After decade of waiting, Oklahomans with disabilities still aren’t receiving the care they need

By Whitney Bryen Oklahoma Watch

Andee Cooper can’t take a shower without risking her son’s life.

Kannon suffers from a rare disorder that causes daily seizures. He needs constant care, someone to soften his falls and keep him from choking by rolling him onto his side.

At 6-foot-4, he looks like a teenager but thinks and acts like a toddler.

One day last year, Cooper forgot to lock the door. When she got out of the shower, Kannon, 14, was gone. He was roaming their street naked and a neighbor called the police.

“He does not look disabled, so to a group of policemen he looks like a defiant teenager,”

Cooper said. “That was scary and that’s why we have a fence now that goes around the entire front yard.”

Cooper found hope in May when lawmakers finally approved $32.5 million to clear a 13-year waitlist for help that had grown to more than 5,000 Oklahomans. About 2,000 of them were children.

Since then, fewer than 10% have been approved for a Medicaid waiver to fund a range of services for lowincome Oklahomans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Like Cooper, many of them are still without care due to the lack of providers — a problem likely to grow with thousands of Oklahomans expected to be approved in the next year.

Last fall, the state approved funding for a home health aide to help Kannon and his mom in their Jenks home for 20 hours per week. But Cooper, a single mom, is competing for care against other families, and big box stores.

In-home aides can make more money answering phones at Costco even after the state used part of last year’s allocation to raise wages. Many have quit for higher pay and less responsibility as the demand for care is spiking.

Since Kannon’s waiver was approved in October, the Coopers have had three case managers, who match families with needed services. The newest, Cheryl Dever, said she’s lost track of how many agencies she has called in

Dear Wise Elder: My dogs, Sugar and Blackie, keep me company but I worry about what will happen when I can no longer take care of them and they need a new home if I have to go to a hospital for an extended period of time. My children have reminded me they are not in a position to add another pet to their homes and they do not live close to me.

- Joan

Dear Joan: Thanks for planning ahead. If you adopted them from a breeder or nonprofit rescue, reach out to see if they will search of in-home staff for Kannon.

Caregivers trained to work with people with cognitive disabilities like Kannon’s are called habilitation training specialists. They’re part of a network of home health workers whose ranks plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic and haven’t recovered.

Demand for in-home care rose as families moved loved ones home from residential facilities vulnerable to the virus. At the same time, children learning from home and fears of becoming sick and infecting patients prompted many caregivers to quit, said Alice Burns, who studied the issue as an associate director at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

A 25% pay increase was re-home them when you can no longer care for them and, equally important, can they care for them if you are hospitalized for a period of time. If you adopted from a municipal shelter, they probably have no program in place. However, they may be able to recommend rescue organizations who will work with you. Start the process now, and explore all the options. It will take time to find the right place.

- Courtesy VillagesOKC, www.VillagesOKC.org

(405) 990 6637 part of last year’s allocation from lawmakers. Oklahoma caregivers are making an average of $12.50 an hour. A search of Oklahoma City-area job postings found entry-level positions at Best Buy, Dillard’s and Costco starting at $15 an hour. In order to reach national standards, another 20% increase is needed, according to a state report comparing caregiver wages.

Picking up a 180-pound teenager from the floor after a seizure or lifting someone from a wheelchair is physically demanding. Some providers are tasked with feeding or bathing patients. Others are responsible for administering medication. All have another’s life in their hands.

Story continued at OKCFRIDAY.com.

Redbud

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Club, where members are taught health, culinary, art and life skills and can further develop in a fun, safe and social environment.

“We are honored and excited to partner with the Redbud Classic and serve as this year’s beneficiary,” Wings Development Officer Allyson Wolfe said. “We have worked tirelessly to build a strong, stable organization that is making a real and lasting impact on our members’ quality of life, and ensure we are taking the worry off families who stress about if their child will be taken care of and be able to live a full life after they’re gone.”

The 2023 Redbud Classic features events for the whole family starting on Saturday, April 15, with 10- and 30-Mile Bike Tours, a 50Mile Fondo and a 1-Mile Kids’ Fun Run, in addition to a 1-Mile Woof Walk. The events continue on Sunday, April 16, with 5K and 10K timed runs, 5K Wheelchair and Pushchair Event, 2-Mile Walk and 2-Mile Baby Stroller Derby.

The 1-Mile Woof Walk takes place immediately following the 1Mile Kids’ Fun Run on Saturday. Each owner will receive a medal along with a bandana for their pet.

Dogs are required to be leashed at all times, with no retractable leashes allowed.

The Redbud Classic events continue past the finish line with the Redbud BASH. The BASH will be held Sunday, April 16, at 1 p.m. in the finish area at Nichols Hills Plaza. There is to be a variety of food from some of Oklahoma’s premier food trucks, beverages from COOP Ale Works and other sponsors, free family-friendly games and activities, music and other entertainment.

Interested participants can register online. In-person registration will be available at the registration office between April 13-16. By registering early at redbud.org, participants are more likely to receive the lowest available registration prices, their choice of T-shirt size as well as a timing tag.

“Everyone deserves to live a full, vibrant life, and through your registration or donation to the 2023 Redbud Classic, you will be helping provide resources to ensure these members of our community are engaged in educational, social and volunteer work that profoundly impacts their quality of life and physical and mental health,” Hersom said.

For complete event details including start times, course maps and registration information, visit redbud.org.

VillagesOKC is always looking for collaboration and community partnerships with other nonprofits who share our core values and support the plan for aging that connects a community.

The Oklahoma City Town Hall Lecture series is a nonprofit organization who shares VillagesOKC educational values and goals.

“The synergy between our two nonprofit organizations is clear,” said Town Hall President Alan Webb. “Oklahoma City Town Hall Lectures and VillagesOKC both focus on education and lifelong learning. Connecting people in both organizations is a winwin for everyone.”

VillagesOKC is a plan not a place. And OKC Town Hall is a lecture series not a building. Its goal is to enhance the quality of life in Oklahoma by providing a forum for nationally recognized speakers who “enrich, entertain, stimulate, inform and educate our citizenry.”

Town Hall Lectures provide another learning opportunity for VillagesOKC members as they continue learning, planning and serving to age successfully. VillagesOKC connects older adults in greater Oklahoma City with the opportunity to make friends, learn new things and have access to trusted resources.

OKC Town Hall Lectures were unknown to VillagesOKC members until a few short months ago. The con- nection between the two organizations came because VillagesOKC member Gaylene Stiles heard about Town Hall Lectures from a mutual sponsor, Joe Kernke of Smith and Kernke.

See VILLAGES, Page 16