Budget Shortfalls Take Toll on Elderly Health Care

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By Chelsea Kopta

Summary

Health centers for the elderly are hammered by budget cuts. Lawmakers slashed 70 percent of the money that goes to adult day care services.

Story Published: Jul 1, 2009 at 5:07 PM PST

KENNEWICK -- A stroke was a setback for John Wilde. But the feisty former building inspector presses forward.

"There's an aid here that's helped me learn to walk with a cane and I made that my special endeavor," Wilde said.

So while the wife's at work, he comes to the adult day services in Kennewick.

"I'm walking with the cane so I can get rid of the chair at some point in time," Wilde said.

It's not just the therapy. Wilde said these services give him a goal, a good time, a social circle.

But not everyone got to stay.

"We really haven't had this kind of threat in the seven years that I've worked here," Holly Ferritto said, Activities Director and LPN for Adult Day Services in Kennewick.

Of 140 people in Kennewick, the state forced 53 to leave.

"There was a lot of crying yesterday," Ferritto said. "We love these people it's not like they're just numbers to us. They are our family and we really care about what happens to them."

"A lot of these people here, during the day, would be on the street," Wilde said.

"They won't have that routine anymore, they won't have anywhere to go," Ferrito said.

Workers at the Kennewick Adult Day services insist, where patients lose services the state will make up for it elsewhere. But critics argue the cutbacks will leave roughly 2,000 elderly or disabled without certain regular health services. And many of those rely on Medicaid. So how will they pay? The programs cost about $25 million a year, about half of which comes from the feds.

"I think the ones that can't come here will be a burden on the state." Wilde said.

It's not just care. it's quality of life. Something Wilde knows first hand.

The Kennewick location will continue to stay open and don't expect to lose anymore people but six other adult day health centers across the state are slated to close in the coming months including one in Spokane where they already laid off seven people.

Reps could not confirm if there would also be closures to Walla Walla or Yakima.