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Panel addresses elder-care issues facing county residents
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Published: August 14, 2009
CONCORD — A panel of five experts in elder care met on Wednesday night at the Cabarrus College of Health Sciences in Concord. Several people attended the discussion hoping to gather information on what Cabarrus County has available for seniors in the area.
The group offered advice and resources on how to seek out what benefits may be available through Medicare, Medicaid or the Veteran's Administration.
Concord resident Larry Poole, 67, explained the difficulty he has in dealing with his 92-year-old mother in Michigan.
"Things in Michigan are not as nice as they are here," Poole said. "Concord as a city has a lot to offer all of the people, and they are very good at letting everyone know what it is. So thank you for what you do."
Becky Bahn, community education and outreach coordinator for Hospice & Palliative Care of Cabarrus County, fielded questions on living wills, medical directives and end-of-life plans, and the so-called "death panels" that opponents of health-care reform have been talking about.
"I don't think you can go wrong having an end-of-life plan," Bahn said. "We as human beings do a lot of preparation for birth, and yet we don't want to look at how our end of life should be. One of the goals of Hospice is to afford everyone the opportunity to sit down and with their family discuss what they'd like."
End-of-life plans are not something new. Families have been having these discussions with health professionals and caregivers before health-care reform came to the forefront.
"If you don't have a plan, you have a plan to fail," Concord resident Jacob Thorpe said. "A living will is a great thing."
Opposition to the current health care reform proposals have added to the confusion, Thorpe said, by pushing the idea of "death panels," or groups set up to determine who is eligbile for health benefits under the proposed system.
That kind of rhetoric, he said, is confusing, and goes against what he sees as needed reform.
"They are trying to say government health care will 'kill grandma,' and that is just confusing people. There is too much gray. There is a great need for a universal program. There is need for reform."
While the general public only has limited control over national health-care reform, everyone can, with planning, prepare for end-of- life care.
Kelli Tremblay, director of admissions for Brian Center Nursing and Rehabilitation, said having a plan helps ensure the family left behind is comfortable their decision serves the wishes of their loved one.
"If something happens, then you know you're doing the right thing," she said. "Then your conscious is clear, because if there is confusion, there is a whole lot of guilt that gets left behind. You don't know for sure if you're doing the right thing."
Making end-of-life plans is as important, Bahn said, as other health-related issues, like planning for the birth of a child.
"What works for me is I have a plan," Bahn said. "I don't just get pregnant and decide I'm not going to do anything about it until I walk into the hospital and maybe have a baby on the floor.
"We have a group of professionals that are here to discuss how to grow old with dignity and grace. When you ask why don't people know about this, they are not confronted with it.
"What Kelli is trying to say is to do yourself and you family a favor and have these plans laid out, and have this discussion with your family. Don't wait until you're in a crisis situation."
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