Director's Message

Gary Weeks

February 11, 2005 To: DHS employees From: Gary Weeks, Director

Twenty years ago, children who were born with serious physical health impairments, otherwise known as "medically fragile," required long-term, intensive care and placement in hospitals or institutions, if they survived their ailments at all. Living at home was rarely an option and families with these children had little semblance of a "normal home life."

Mothers of some of these children came to the Oregon Department of Human Services a few years ago, pleading for another alternative.

What came from those discussions was the creation of the Medically Fragile Children's Unit, which provides services for families who have children up to 18 years of age with chronic, intense medical needs. The unit, started in 1996, helps families in the coordination of services within their homes and communities.

It is a unique collaboration in the department, housed in the Seniors and People with Disabilities cluster, that saves the state hundreds thousands of dollars by finding ways to keep these children with their families in their homes, rather than paying for costly hospital stays or out of home placements.

More than 400 children have been helped through the unit since its inception. Eligibility is determined using clinical criteria that evaluate all children equally based solely on their medical condition. These children have physical health impairments requiring specialized supports on a daily basis and need expensive medical equipment and specialized health care resources.

How the department helps
Some of the services provided to the medically fragile children in this program include:

• intensive coordination between families, DHS departments, insurance companies and community providers, helping the family receive the care and supports available;
• in-home supports that could include a combination of nursing and personal care services, as determined by the care needed;
• related supplies and equipment not paid for by the Oregon Health Plan or insurance, and too costly for the family to afford.

Besides helping these children stay or return to their homes, this program helps stabilize families. With the hundreds of families the department has worked with during the tenure of this program, only one couple has divorced thus far. This by far beats the odds of the pressures these families face daily as well as beating the high national divorce rate, relating to the stress of trying to care for a medically fragile child.

Helping a little boy get back home
One example of the work this unit does happened in Southern Oregon. The unit helped a little boy with serious medical issues in the Medford area eventually reunite with his family and receive care at home. Initially, the boy's parents were not able to provide his care full-time, as he was ventilator dependent, and had a variety of medical needs that required nursing care.

Thus, the youngster was placed in medical foster care in the Portland area and his mother came up and lived for several weeks at a time in a motor home -- provided by the foster family -- and parked in the driveway, so she could care for her son under the guidance of the foster parents.

DHS worked intensely with the family, an in-home nursing provider, a medical equipment provider, and the Medford medical community to develop services and supports to allow the child to move back home.

Today, the little boy is 9 years old, is back in the Medford area, and lives happily with his family. He also is able to go to school and is thriving thanks to the life-supporting medical equipment and services provided though our Medically Fragile Children's Unit and other community organizations.

Black History Month

Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926. The celebration of Black History Month is thanks in part to Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a nationally known scholar. Born to parents who were former slaves, Woodson spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines, enrolling in high school at age 20. He graduated within two years and later went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard.

Woodson was disturbed to find in his studies that history books largely ignored the black American population-and when blacks did figure into the picture, it was generally in ways that reflected the inferior social position they were assigned at the time.

Woodson chose February to celebrate Black History because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Other key dates in February include: Feb. 3, 1870 - passage of the 15th Amendment, granting blacks the right to vote; Feb. 25, 1870 - when the first black U.S. senator took his oath of office; and Feb. 12, 1909 - the founding of the NAACP.

Honoring our diversity

The Governor recently enacted an Affirmative Action Executive Order recognizing the diverse backgrounds, cultures, beliefs and life experiences of Oregonians and reaffirming the state's commitment to the right of all persons to work and advance on the basis of merit, ability, and potential.

The Governor's Executive Order directs agencies to review and discuss affirmative action plans and related management responsibilities, requires the state Director of Affirmative Action to coordinate the development and presentation of training relating to these issues, and asks that all agencies receive a list of approved firms that provide Cultural Competency Assessment and Training.

While Black History Month gives us a chance to concentrate on the contributions of key Americans, it is important for us to not limit ourselves to consider these issues one week or one month of the year. We all need to continually foster a climate of increased cultural awareness, a common understanding of how all members of our agency should be valued and respected, and an understanding of how to maintain a welcoming environment for everyone.

" Freedom is never given; it is won."
~ A. Philip Randolph, Civil Rights and Labor Activist