The Oregon Caregiver Fall/Winter 2016

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The Oregon Caregiver Fall/Winter 2016 22
profile
Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem)
is the longest-serving member of the
Oregon Legislature and Senate President,
now in his seventh term as the Senate
leader. Senator Jackie Winters (R-Salem)
has been an elected official since 1998 and
was the first African-American Republican
elected to the Oregon Legislature.
Together, they form a formidable pair of
veteran legislators who are from different
political parties but share a common
mission of helping the most vulnerable
Oregonians.
With long tenures in the legislature
can you talk about your histories of
working on senior and healthcare
issues?
Senator Winters (SW): I was the
ombudsman for Governor Victor Atiyeh
and prior to that my husband was the
ombudsman for Governor Tom McCall,
and it was during his term that the long
term care ombudsman was created
under the Older Americans Act. So my
involvement with seniors has stretched
a lot of years. When I was elected to the
legislature in 1999 I did not envision that
I'd be sitting so soon on the ways and
means committee. And human services
was the budget that I became responsible
for. That first year was interesting for
me from the policy perspective for a few
reasons. In Oregon, we always prided
ourselves in having a continuous system
from independent living to assisted
living to nursing homes. That year, when
I was chair, the issue came up of whether
we were going to be able to fund them
at the same level, continue the private/
public relationship, and some other
issues. I was a always a strong supporter
of the graduated care system that we have
and we plan to keep.
Senator Courtney (SC): Back in
1969 is when I first came to Oregon.
Right away, I knew that I wanted to get
involved with policymaking. So I ran
for the Salem city council in 1974. In the
legislature, I’ve been interested in helping
vulnerable Oregonians. I was there when
we created the Oregon Health Plan and
Project Independence in the 90’s. More
recently, I’ve been focused on improving
our mental health system and support for
veterans.
How have your perspectives on
senior issues changed over time?
SC: I can definitely relate more to
aging because I’ve been there. I’ve had
health issues that many Oregonian’s
are facing including cancer and joint
replacements. Frankly, the older I get, the
more I don’t like aging. I’m trying to run
Hood to Coast again and it’s certainly
harder to train for something like that.
I’ve also seen friends and colleagues go
through health challenges and visited
them in nursing facilities and hospitals.
I have tremendous respect for the nurses
and caregivers who help people in those
moments of need.
SW: What I see is that now people
live longer and have other issues
related to longevity, so many places are
instituting memory care and things
like that which are so important. We're
evolving, I believe, our continuum
of care, from the place of Project
Independence, where one can stay
in their home, to where one goes to
another facility. I’ve visited quite a few
assisted living facilities and they are a
community in and of themselves. I find
that assisted living facilities have a very
positive place in our society.
What experiences have you had
with caregiving and long term care?
SC: I was raised by my mother who
had Parkinson’s disease for 39 years.
When she was diagnosed I was two years’
old so I have a long history of dealing
with this type of care. We didn’t have a
caregiver for my mom at the time. I was
her caregiver, along with my father and
brothers. We washed her; we bathed her.
You didn't have nurses, you didn't have
home care, you didn’t have anyone come
in. Finally, someone came in to help take
care of my mother, and we loved that
caretaker.
SW: My husband was in a skilled
nursing facility. Unlike my parents and
their parents' times where they called
places "the old folks homes", where you
went when you didn’t have anyone to
take care of you, that's just not the way
communities are constructed today,
to think in terms of an individual who
doesn’t have any life left. On the contrary
I see it as a place where someone has much
life since you’ve got social interactions,
movie theaters, and recreational facilities.
So the image has really changed from
what it was 40 or 50 years ago. I encourage
everyone to visit communities. They are
so vibrant and alive.
Senator Winters, do you have a
sense for what budget challenges long
term care is facing today?
SW: Budget is always a challenge.
There are competing pieces. Budget
includes three major components:
education, human services, and public
safety. And these are all competing
interests, and it’s always a challenge
to make sure you are able to provide
Senators Peter Courtney (D-Salem)
& Jackie Winters (R-Salem)
Policy Makers