Opinion Page

My name is Chris Long, I am a caregiver working with In Home Supportive Services, it's a great program and I am incredibly grateful for its existence.

This is a program that supports care in the recipient's home, no hospital or nursing home infrastructure needs to be provided by State or County. This is also a program that supports the willing and the committed caregiver by paying a very low wage for up to about half the hours that may be required to care for a severely disabled person.

Since I began networking with other home-care providers I have come to know them as a diverse group of dedicated people. Many of us are highly qualified, some of us left high paying jobs or careers in order to honor a commitment to a person we cared for deeply. I am offended by the portrayal of us in recent media coverage as welfare recipients. The quality we have in common is the commitment to provide care, we are "care providers". With an aging population we are - dare I say - politically important.

We all face the probability of loss of function or disability in old age. The need for care is going to come knocking on the door for all of us should we live as long as we would like to. Home care should interest us. We have all seen the horror stories in the media of what goes on at many institutions. Providing a humane alternative that costs relatively little money is the best solution. But not everyone has the proclivity for this kind of work - and when you need someone to look after your mom, you will have to hope that it is not a stranger paid minimum wage.

Many home-care workers are in fact presently providing care 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The measure of our value can be seen when we need time off. To replace a $7.00 per hour caregiver on the open market, costs anywhere from $11.00 to $24.00 an hour. Buying care from a stranger costs at least double the rate of what is paid by the IHSS program. It simply isn't available at minimum wage and a "fixed" number of hours. The most vital ingredient of the program is the dedicated, committed, home-care worker, who is willing to take on a job that needs to be done - essentially putting in three hours for every one that is paid for. If the new governor succeeds in eliminating relatives as care providers, reduces wages, and eliminates medical coverage, then this care will simply not exist.

My job consists of skilled survival assistance; helping with physical therapy, toileting, bathing, administering medication, transportation to doctors appointments, preparing special diets, laundry, and household cleaning, as well as physically lifting my wife out of bed, and into the vehicle, etc. I have to rub her body to keep her circulation going and prevent sores and paralysis. Since she is at times in a great deal of pain, these last things require a great deal of practice and skill. I literally took a three-year program in physical movement therapy to learn how to assist her without causing pain. Additionally, I also have taken her to college classes for years. Last but not least, I can sometimes make her smile, and even laugh, and help her to have hope! A stranger simply could not do these things.

I don't have a retirement fund to live off while I do this. I don't draw any other government benefits or support. I am not expecting the state to make me wealthy. But if my wage is so low that I cannot afford to buy ANY time off (which has literally been true for years), and I am not allowed to have any medical coverage, I will be exhausted and my wife will be left with no care.

Exhaust the home-care worker and your least expensive and most humane option dies. The program will only work well if the primary home-care provider is supported, and that needs to be a caring relative when possible.

Please write or call the governor today: