***Story Published in Mountain Echo, February 5, 2013
“I lived during the Great Depression and you are seeing
things nowadays just as bad.” Eva Reed is an 83 year old resident who has been
in a skilled nursing facility for almost five years. She was born in 1929 in
the state of Oklahoma. Eva worked as a farm laborer and was a volunteer Indian
Chief for the United Lumbee Indian Tribe for 28 years. Eva raised three
children and has three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. “It was
hard going through the Great Depression. My mother worked for 50 cents an hour
doing laundry during World War II, while I went to school and took in laundry.”
Eva recalled. “It was very important to work hard and be true to your word.”
Eva has seen how things change, from the way we generate
electricity to the way we take care of each other. She has found her home at
Mayers Memorial Skilled Nursing Facility and is very happy being where she is.
“The staff and other residents here are wonderful; I am close to my family and
get visits several times a week.” Eva put in years of hard work and was
committed to taking care of those around her. Now in her later years, she is in
a place where she can be well taken care of…for now.
Janet Wolter was born in 1927 and will be 86 years old on
February 13th. She was a school secretary for 20 years and worked
alongside her husband as a cattle rancher. Janet knows what it means to work
hard. She raised four children and has ten grandchildren and seven
great-grandchildren. Janet, too, lived through the Great Depression and WWII.
“That time shaped our lives. We learned a lot from those times. Something good
always came of the tough times we went through.”
Janet feels that things have changed over the years. “We
need to teach our children the value of hard work. I always felt that kids that
grew up working hard (on ranches) learned a lot about responsibility.”
Responsibility, something the state is neglecting when it comes to our elder
community.
Janet and her husband moved into the Mayers Skilled Nursing
facility almost two years ago. Her husband, Jim, passed away last February. “We
had to depend on Medi-Cal to help pay our bills in the facility. We really
enjoyed being here together.” Janet said the staff goes above and beyond to
take care of her and the other residents are like her family. “I am impressed
with all of the hard work that the staff does. They have to be very special
people to do their jobs, from the housekeepers to the CEO.”
These are just two of the lives that could be affected by
California’s AB97. There’s the artist that has roots that go deep into the
community. I have several pieces of her work. There’s the retired teacher that
taught students math with the fun game of Krypto. My husband was one of them.
There’s the Pearl Harbor Survivor that was interviewed recently for the local
news. There’s the mechanic, the legal
secretary, the waitress, the preacher, the physical therapy aide, the
postmaster, the rancher and the structural engineer. Their stories fill the
walls of their rooms. Looking at pictures and into their eyes you see a
lifetime of history and a person who has seen the successes and challenges of
our world.
They all have a story to tell and we could all learn
something from them. Their experiences leave ours with something to be desired.
Their average age is 81, but there are forty-six of them
over the age of 85, including one proud 100 year old. Most of them were born in
the 1920’s and 30’s. They are a generation that knew what it was like to have
nothing and work for everything. They are a generation that has worked
diligently their entire life. They have old-fashioned and well-grounded morals
and standards. They know what it means to make a deal with a handshake. They
know what it means to keep their word and take care of those around them.
They went through the Great Depression and World War II.
They have lived to see the changes in culture, society and technology…not all
good changes. Writing letters and sitting down for a cup of coffee is how they
communicate; not emails, texting and through the internet. Somewhere in the
middle of all of that, the government has forgotten their responsibility in taking
care of these individuals on which our foundation is built.
This group includes ten veterans. Eight men and two women
that served our country to give us the freedoms we have today.
These precious people have lived their lives and have
contributed to society and have been a vital part to their respective
communities. It is their time in life to be taken care of and they have found
that care in a rural healthcare facility’s skilled nursing home. These are the
76 residents in the Mayers Memorial Hospital facilities in Burney and Fall
River Mills. These residents and their homes are being threatened by pending cuts
for Medi-Cal to healthcare facilities as determined by AB97.
The harsh reality of the state’s effort to balance a budget
by saving quarters to spend dollars is going to have the largest effect on the
seniors that established a home in this small healthcare setting. These
residents have spent an average of 3 years in the facility. One resident has
spent over 15 years in her long term care home.
The loggers, truck drivers, waitresses, bookkeepers,
millworkers and many other hardworking individuals that have contributed more
than their fair share to society will be the ones to pay the price because the
state cannot pay their fair share.
It is important to recognize that these 76 people are very
simply, at home. They have their own space, own belongings, personal
decorations and pictures. They have their own schedule, their favorite food,
staff member and activity. They play bingo, go to church service, get their
hair done and sing songs. They watch television, read books and crochet. They
are in their comfort zone. Eva says, “We do a lot to keep us occupied here.
This is a nice place to be.”
They even fall in love. Anita Kuhns and Elbert Glover, both
89 years young, have found that it is never too late for love. They will be
married on February 9th.
What part of this home does the government not understand?
Why would it be okay to displace one of the hardest working generations? Why
should this group give of themselves for a lifetime and not have society give
back. They were there for us; we need to be there for them.
Eva Reed says, “If the hospital nursing home were to close,
it would have great impact on our community, people would have to move away to
find work and it would have a great impact on the businesses here. It would
hurt our already hurting schools that took a hard hit after logging mills
closed a while back. I would be forced to move hundreds of miles away and it
would cost the state more in the long run to take care of me elsewhere.”
Janet feels much the same way. “There is no other place I
could go that would care for me and give me the support I have here. All of my
treasures are close by, the cattle ranch we worked, my kids and grandkids…I
wouldn’t want to move away from them.”
To make this issue even bigger, the 76 residents at Mayers
Skilled Nursing Facility are not the only ones that will be affected. There are
many other facilities in the state of California facing the same fate. It is a
disservice to even imagine that one of the hardest working generations left,
will be put out in the cold because our government cannot get their priorities
straight.
For more information see www.mayersmemorial.com
Video at
