“If you’re over 65, you best have your own thing worked out,” says Portland resident Robert “Bob” Joyce. Acquiring the right supports, getting the proper medical care and finding a suitable place to live did not come easy for Joyce, now 69, as he’s struggled to overcome many unexpected, challenging life events.
Joyce had a very successful career as a clinical psychologist in northern California. Then about 11 years ago, he was suddenly and seriously injured in a car accident, resulting in both cognitive and physical impairments. Shortly after the accident Joyce moved to Oregon to be both closer to his sister, who would assist with his care, and to undergo experimental medical treatment at Oregon Health and Sciences University. In yet another unexpected turn of events, Joyce’s sister and primary caregiver, suddenly passed away. Without family in the area, Joyce’s physician referred him to Friendly House, an organization in Northwest Portland.
“Friendly House has been a big part of my recovery,” says Joyce. “It’s been like having another person in the family.” As a provider for Oregon Project Independence (OPI), Friendly House helped him find and move into his current apartment, where he’s lived on his own for the last two years. For the most part Joyce can manage living on his own, but sometimes he needs a bit of assistance lifting things or cleaning. Through OPI he is able to get three hours of in-home assistance each week and a case manager who ensures that his essential needs are met.
If Oregon lawmakers make cuts to long-term care services, as they are considering in the 2009-2011 budget, programs like OPI and seniors like Bob Joyce will most certainly be caught in the middle. Rather than living in his apartment with minimal in-home supports, Joyce will probably be forced to seek out more costly facility-based care, forgoing his personal choice as well as his independence and likely costing the state far more.
When asked what he would say to policymakers if given the opportunity, Joyce recited this quote by former Vice President Herbert Humphrey, “It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.” Joyce added that “there is an underlying hostility in any system when the basic needs of individuals are not being met. Right now the system is like a deer caught in headlights. Policymakers need to realize that there is no magical solution and they need to listen to what the issues are.”