blog

the health care gap

Monday, 14 September 2009 10:23

Health care, health care, health care.  Swine flu, swine flu, swine flu.

Right now, you can’t turn on your car radio without hearing something about the health care debate, or about how the swine flu is expected to affect 40-50% of people as schools get back into swing.

Oddly, when I hear this, lately the image that’s been sticking in my mind is of three different women, one with a medication in hand, showering a naturopathic doctor with questions as she eased for the door.  She was already leaving a half hour late, but the residents had more needs than could possibly be met in such a short time.   The office was closing.  She had to go.  This happened two Thursdays ago and I was struck by how great our residents’ need was.

Health care is a huge gap for the low-income and homeless in Seattle.  In July of this year, a report was released concluding that the average age of death for a homeless person in Seattle was only 48 years old.  Per Wikipedia, the average age of death in the U.S. is currently 77.5 - 80 years old.

48 for the homeless, can you believe that?  That’s something to think about the next time you see a homeless person sitting on the street.  How old is she? 

Our residents certainly personify this statistic.  By the time many get here, their health care or dental care has been neglected for years thanks to poverty.  Some accept daily, untreated pain as a simple reality of life.  They don’t even bring up the constant soreness of a missing tooth, the left foot that smarts from a broken bone that didn’t heal correctly, the throbbing of undiagnosed arthritis.   They’re just used to it.  Luckily, our care managers (social workers) ultimately intervene by connecting them with health care, dental care, and more to change the standard of life and the outcomes for these women.

But what will the swine flu boil down to for the other homeless people around town?  They’re especially vulnerable because many of them already have compromised immune systems from those years of untreated medical conditions.  What kind of care will they receive?  What kind of health care is available to them?

I will be crossing my fingers and hoping that whatever happens with these health care reforms we’re discussing, we will be changing the homeless person’s life expectancy from 48 to something closer to 77.5 – 80 like everyone else.

Let’s keep talking about health care.  It’s time we did. To learn more about President Obama's plans, check this link from WhiteHouse.gov.

Becca Petrin
Office Manager