A helping hand, close to home

Lisa Economon is spunky at age 80 – she meditates, plays guitar and studies the teachings of the Dalai Lama.

Yet vacuuming the carpet and scrubbing the tub in her tiny but homey apartment shared with her Siamese cat, Ling Singh, could be a one-way ticket to the nursing home.

Those seemingly innocuous chores aggravate the dislocated disk in Economon’s back and leave her in excruciating pain for days.

“I’m one of those people who never had anyone help me with anything,” Economon said Monday.

She recently overcame her pride and allowed her daughter to request in-home services from the Area Agency on Aging of North Idaho.

Now, once a week, a housekeeper comes to Economon’s Coeur d’Alene Manor apartment for two hours to vacuum, clean the bathroom and carry laundry up the steep concrete steps. She admits the assistance has made life a little easier, leaving her the energy to walk and exercise.

“It helps me a lot,” she said. “I want to live on my own.”

Many older residents in North Idaho with chronic medical conditions aren’t so fortunate because the agency’s state money has run out, leaving nearly 200 people in the five northern counties on a waiting list for in-home services.

About $338,000 is needed to get those people services such as housekeeping, help with bathing and grocery shopping, and provide respite to caregivers – often family members – who need a break from giving full-time care, said agency director Pearl Bouchard.

The Idaho Commission on Aging, which is overseen by the governor’s office and gives money to regional programs, is asking the governor for the additional money to at least get people off the waiting list. Yet Bouchard said more money is needed as baby boomers age and North Idaho attracts more retirees.

The agencies serve seniors who have chronic health issues no matter their income. The fees are adjusted on a sliding scale.

Bouchard made the pitch to Gov. Butch Otter when he visited Wallace earlier this month, giving him the names of the 198 people on the waiting list just in North Idaho.

“Resources are really lacking for us to keep seniors in their homes,” Bouchard told Otter. “It’s a very important issue across the country.”

Otter thanked Bouchard for highlighting the state’s human services needs but said little else. The conversation soon turned to improvements to U.S. Highway 95.

This week Otter’s press secretary Jon Hanion confirmed Otter received the information but that his office won’t reveal any details of proposed budget requests until the governor unveils the state budget in his Jan. 7 State of the State speech.

Bouchard isn’t counting on the state and launched a fundraising campaign a couple of years ago. The North Idaho agency sent mailers a few weeks ago aimed at attracting dollars to help what she called a “financial crisis.”

“We just feel we have to do something,” she said. “The population is growing, and we are already experiencing this kind of demand. We can’t just sit back and maintain a waiting list and not do something.”

Bouchard said the goal is to keep the elderly in their own homes for as long as possible. To her, it’s a matter of economics – and quality of life. It’s less expensive for seniors to live in their own homes than in assisted living facilities or nursing homes. And most seniors prefer to stay at home.

The 2000 U.S. census reported 30,091 seniors in the five northern counties that the agency covers. Bouchard said the agency connected about 3,310 people, or 11 percent, with services. She said the prediction is that by 2010 the number of people over age 65 will have grown 3 percent in Idaho.

And these are just the people who have actually asked for help.

Bouchard said many people, especially those of the Depression era, often refuse to ask for assistance.

That’s the case with Economon.

“I forced it on her,” said Susan Economon, her daughter, who owns Angel Aides – a local personal care company that often contracts with the aging agency to provide services. In fact, her mom’s housekeeper is an employee of Angel Aides.

She isn’t surprised that there’s a waiting list. And she isn’t surprised that there isn’t more money available to help keep the elderly in their homes.

“I don’t understand why these services are not better supported by our government,” Susan Economon said, adding that people need more education on what services are available and how important it is to the elderly.

“It’s one of the best-kept secrets around,” she said.