ElderHealth Northwest

Challenges and the Withdrawal of State Support in 2009

                

ElderHealth, like many organizations receiving state support, suffered huge losses in the 2009 state legislative session. The budget's first draft completely eliminated funding for Adult Day Health. With strong client and staff advocacy efforts in Olympia, and lobbying support from SEIU, ElderHealth was able to win back partial funding. However, funding was lost for clients living in Adult Family Homes, including 900 clients across the state. While the state viewed these clients as already covered by at least some kind of service, ElderHealth finds that they are often some of the most vulnerable participants, isolated in Adult Family Homes without friends or family checking in. Furthermore, services would be withdrawn abruptly - in less than two months.
 
While devastated by this outcome, ElderHealth rallied partners to craft a lawsuit to protect these vulnerable clients. Led by AARP, then funded by SEIU, the lawsuit made the case that all the participants in Adult Day Health had been granted services that were deemed medically necessary, and the state was not giving itself enough time to reassess each client and make other arrangements for these needs (i.e. rehabilitation and therapy) to be met. In July, a judge ruled that the four plaintiffs could return temporarily to Adult Day Health until reassessment could take place, but did not grant the same rights to the rest of the 900 who are affected.
 
Besides the loss of services for those in Adult Family Homes, ElderHealth also suffered a 3% reduction in reimbursement for Home Care and Supported Living and loss of transportation services to its sites.
 
With these losses, involving 20% of its operating budget, ElderHealth has had to make significant changes. In July, ElderHealth closed two of its six Adult Day Health Centers, and laid off 40 staff people. From June to July, ElderHealth had a 40% reduction in clients, due to loss of funding for Adult Family Home clients, plus difficulties in supplying transportation to other clients.

After all these changes, in September, a federal judge ruled that all the elders who had lost services had been denied due process, and thus were temporarily eligible for Adult Day Health until the state could identify adequate alternative ways to meet their medically necessary services. But for ElderHealth, much of the damage had already been done. Many clients had lost mobility and several had died. While the ruling was a victory, it was only a temporary reprieve, and with sites already closed and employees already laid off, it is a challenge to provide at the past level of service.
 
According to Nora Gibson, Executive Director, these cuts were "the single most painful thing the agency has ever gone through." She notes, "it was painful on multiple levels - putting so much out to try and win back state support, getting part of it, but losing it for the people who we personally view as most needing the service." Both staff and clients feel a tremendous sense of loss, including "emotional trauma" from knowing who is no longer receiving services. In a way, this emotional pain is the price paid for being a caring, personalized organization that connects so deeply with its clients. "You can't just look at people as numbers," says Nora. She also notes the undercurrent of worry that the budget cuts, layoffs, and unemployment payouts would destabilize the organization and cause it to crumble. At this point, ElderHealth is staying afloat and persevering in what it does best – supporting elders in their desire to live independent and happy lives as long as possible.


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