February 14, 2008

The elderly and their caregivers packed a hearing room in Augusta last week to tell the Appropriations Committee that without state money to pay for help with basic needs like cooking a meal or getting a shower many would no longer be able to stay at home and out of institutional care.

Their testimony capped a week of emotional hearings where those affected by the proposed $65 million in cuts to Health and Human Services in the governor's proposed supplemental budget came to Augusta to tell legislators why their services should be spared.

The news is only going to get worse, however, since Gov. John Baldacci announced the budget deficit could grow by another $99 million and human services could be asked to find an additional $34 million cut.

Those who made the trek to Augusta to protest the cuts begged legislators to find another way.

"They're all your moms and pops," said Patricia Gravel, a state worker who takes care of her 80-year-old father at home and is on a waiting list for home care services.

"I work very hard up here in the capital," she said, and just need help to "give him a shower every day, cook him a warm meal, help him get dressed and take his meds."

The homemaker services funding is essentially being cut in half, along with reductions in hands-on care like help bathing and dressing. The cuts also would eliminate independent living pilot projects for low-income, frail elderly in subsidized apartments in Westbrook's Larrabee Village and smaller homes in Brunswick, Rockland, Mount Desert Island and in Aroostook County.

Also on the cut list is money for adult day care and support and respite for family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's.

Two sisters came to testify on behalf of their 82-year-old mother, who has osteoporosis and severe arthritis. When she went into the hospital with a broken hip, she lost her state homecare services because they can only be put on hold for 30 days.

"My mother and father, who is now deceased, worked very hard and they paid into the system that is now failing the elderly," the daughter said.

One of the largest contingents was a busload of 20 seniors from Larrabee Village in Westbrook, who were introduced by John Gallagher, head of the Westbrook Housing Authority. Gallagher explained the senior housing, serving 150 tenants, works because it combines state, federal and local money to keep its occupants living independently and outside of more expensive nursing homes.

"I love Larrabee Village," said Elizabeth Stevens, age 93, who lost her husband and spent time in an assisted living facility near her granddaughter's in Philadelphia.

"It cost $3,000 a month. We got three meals a day and there was a doctor on hand and a registered nurse, but the services are not as good as they are at Larrabee Village and the rent there is much, much less," she said. "I never thought I'd be happy living alone in a multiple dwelling, but I'm very happy at Larrabee Village."

Gerald Finks, the president of the resident council at Larrabee Village, said the funding cuts could break up a community that is working.

"It would drive some of these individuals, such as Betty, into a nursing home or assisted living. These folks at Larrabee Village are very, very independent. I think they deserve to continue and Larrabee Village deserves to continue as it is right now. It should not have to change," he said.

Stephen Farnham of the Aroostook Agency on Aging came to testify in support of independent housing programs there that serve 21 people. He talked about a man who lived alone in shack without running water. When he finally could no longer cut the wood to keep himself warm, he came to an independent living facility in Caribou, where he lived for three years. When he was finally transferred to a nursing home, he died.

"When I take a look at these 21 people, I scratch my head and say, `what are we going to do with them?'" Farnham said.