Health care forum invigorates debate on need for reform

Community leaders made a forceful argument Sunday for the need to overhaul our nation's health care system to reduce costs and expand coverage. A series of speakers invited to Community for Change's "Community Conversation on Health Care" laid out the toll the current system is having on people, businesses and local governments, with several experts concluding change is needed.

Barb Tylenda, executive director of the Health Care Network of Racine County, gave a forceful speech about the need to expand health care coverage to all people. Tylenda was hired about 20 years ago to run the non-profit, but was only promised a job for three years because organizers said health care reform was inevitable. Two decades later Tylenda is still running an organization that is needed more today than at any time in its history.

"In 1987, the (health care system) was unacceptable," Tylenda said. "Today it is not unacceptable, it's unsustainable."

While the forum coincided with Obama's effort to reform the U.S. health care system (an effort that presidents have tried and failed at for 100 years), the most poignant debate among speakers centered on a "single-payer" system that would remove health insurance companies from the process and put the federal government in charge of paying for health care for everyone.

Paulette Garin, who ran for Congress in 2008, said a 6.6 percent payroll tax (essentially 6.5 percent of your pay would go to health insurance) would cover the cost of a national system that guaranteed every American top-of-the-line health care. She said the current system is broke because insurance companies place "profits over patients." The result are 46 million uninsured Americans who are locked out of the health care system.

Garin's line, "Health care is a human right," drew applause from the crowd and a shout of, "I am not a statistic." She described the fight for health care reform as the "civil rights movement" of our time.

"It's the fight of our lives because our lives depend on it," Garin said.

Dr. Kenneth Kurt, of Racine, rebutted Garin by saying 70-80 percent of Americans have adequate health care (though the safe number is closer to 65 percent), while those who don't have care cost the system "a tremendous amount of dollars."

"They're not the healthiest group of people in our country," Kurt said.

However, he didn't dismiss the idea of a single-payer system.

"We need to look at single-payer, but we need to look carefully at who is going to pay the bills," Kurt said, drawing applause.

Alderman Greg Helding (above) discussed the potential impact of health care reform on the local level. Helding estimated 20 percent of the city's budget pays for employees' health care. Switching to a single-payer system that charges an 8 percent payroll tax would save the city millions of dollars it could use for additional street maintenance and city services, like police.

This year alone the city is expecting an 11 percent increase in its health care costs, Helding said. Over time health care costs could grow to 10 times the amount of the city's property tax levy, a number that is simply unsustainable, he said.

"(Health care) costs us a lot of money and it's increasing rapidly," Helding said.

Rep. Cory Mason echoed Helding's speech on the state and national levels. He said 16 percent of every dollar is spent on health care - a number that far exceeds European countries' rate of 8-10 percent. Worse, the U.S. system provides worse coverage than other industrialized countries.

Mason said part of the problem is we have a "sick care system" that only responds when people are ill. Preventative care is often uncovered and too expensive, Mason said.

Racine gets it particularly bad because it has some of the highest health care rates in the country, but still deals with thousands of people without health insurance every year.

"We have to do better," Mason said.

Kelly Gallaher (above), of Community for Change, moderated the speakers during the forum. She opened the speeches by briefly discussing the organization's path to the forum. Community for Change was formed from volunteers who worked for President Obama's campaign, but is now working to become a non-partisan community organizer that connects groups around important issues, she said.

The health care forum gathered together 50 local businesses and organizations, 14 speakers, a 12-member community panel and three short documentaries made by local filmmakers.


Several hundred people (I'd guess 300, but no one had an accurate count) attended Community for Change's Community Conversation on Health Care Reform at the Masonic Center in Racine. Attendees listened to speakers and walked through an exhibit hall.

Designed as an opportunity to open dialogue about the leading issue of the day (Congress is debating an overhaul of the health care system), the forum's strongest messages came from a series of speeches delivered by local experts on health care and politics.

Sarah Clemmons (above), of the Racine Health Department, was on the list of scheduled speakers, among at least 16 in the afternoon. They included:

Bruce Joffe, LGBT Center; Jack Waters, Kenosha Community Health Center; Paulette Garin, Progressive Democrats of America; Nina Frank, ADRC; Steve Drenning, Transition Living Services; Sister Brenda Walsh, Siena Center; Maggie Bruhner, Lakeview Pharmacy; Mary Wilson, NAMI; Linda Stengel, Partners in Health; Art Shattuck, Roots and Legends; Betty Williams, Racine County Birth to 3 program; Jeff Van Koningsveld, IBEW; Greg Helding, Racine City Council; and Sarah Clemmons, Racine Health Department.

Featured speakers included: Ron Thomas, United Way; state Rep. Cory Mason; Barb Tylenda, Health Care Network; and Pastor Melvin Hargrove, Zoe Outreach Ministries.

RacinePost sat on the community panel along with County Executive Bill McReynolds, Mason, four aldermen, union leaders and others.

A small farmer's market was available outside of the Masonic Center. Fresh veggies and eggs were for sale.

Overhead view of the exhibitor's hall.

More from the exhibitor's hall ...

and more.

Community Conversation on Health Care this Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

Community for Change is bringing the national health care debate down to the local level Sunday with a public forum on the controversial issue.

The "Community Conversation on Health Care Reform: Expo and Forum" will take place from 1-4 p.m. at Racine’s Masonic Center, 1012 S. Main St.

The event will feature an expo in the main ballroom of approximately 40 health care organizations and businesses that will have displays and representatives highlighting their services. Some of the organizations who will be in attendance include:

• Lincoln Lutheran Home
• Health Care Network
• Racine Community Health Center
• Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) of Racine County
• Racine Health Department Programs
• Medical Support Services

The public forum will feature community leaders with presentations from individuals and health care professionals. The forum will take place from 1 to 3pm in the Doric Room, and presenters include:

• Kenosha Community Health Center
• Racine County Wisconsin Well Women Program
• Racine County Birth to 3 Program
• NAMI
• Linda Stengel and Arthur Shattuck on Alternative Medical Practices

Community for Change will also host a learning center and action area on the ballroom mezzanine where attendees may get information on legislation in process and write letters to elected officials with their thoughts and ideas as debate on reform continues. Fitness demonstrations of Zoomba, Jazzercise and massage therapy will take place from 1 to 3pm in the Egyptian Room.

The afternoon will conclude with a special presentation at 3pm in the Doric Room by:

• Wisconsin State Representative Cory Mason
• Barb Tylenda, Director of Health Care Network
• Ron Thomas of the United Way and AFL‐CIO
• Pastor Melvin Hargrove of Zoë Outreach Ministries

The Masonic Center is handicapped accessible with an elevator entrance on the North side of the building. Spanish translators will be available. Limited parking will be available at the Masonic Center, there is on the street parking available on Main and Wisconsin and additional parking at Gateway Technical College at 1001 S. Main.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information please contact Community for Change at www.communityforchange.com or email communityforchange@gmail.com

Community for Change is a comprehensive coalition of grassroots organizations committed to promoting HOPE, ACTION and CHANGE in our world and within our community.

In partnership with Organizing for America, the members of Community for Change work together to coordinate information and resources relevant to issues of public policy, grassroots organizing and electoral politics that directly benefit our community and enhance the lives of its residents.

Health Care Forum: Heading for golden years, dementia shatters couple's dreams

Maribel and Melvin Salo were planning to live in Spain two months out of the year. It's where the Racine couple met and Maribel still had family and friends living in the Mediterranean city Alicante.

"We felt we had it made," Maribel said. "These were the golden years. We had everything planned out. Even if something happened, we thought we were set."

Maribel Salo. Image taken from the video, "Mel's Story" produced for Community
for Change's Health Care Forum at the Masonic Center, 1012 Main St., 1-4 p.m.

When you hear stories about breakdowns in our health care system, this phrase often comes up: "We did everything right." That's the case with the Salos.

Mel served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years and left the service as a highly trained electrical engineer. He took a job at Grove Gear in Union Grove and the Salos bought a home in Sturtevant. Maribel worked at day cares and kindergarten classrooms. They had two children and now six grandchildren. They saved money and had good benefits their whole life.

Mel's dementia came on slowly. At first his "rush, rush" personality, as Maribel called it, turned into a more laid back attitude. Then one night they went to a neighbor's house to play dominoes. Mel, an electrical engineer who is brilliant at math, couldn't add the numbers.

A neurologist diagnosed him with frontotemporal dementia. There is no cure or even medicine to slow the disease's effects, and as it progresses, the patient requires heightened levels of medical care.

At first, Mel stayed at home. But Maribel couldn't lift him, then he became violent with her and one night he disappeared for six hours. Mel was found walking along the interstate. Maribel looked into 24-hour nursing care in their home, but it was too expensive. She made the difficult decision to move him to a nursing home, but that still costs $7,000 a month.

Now, just four years after he was diagnosed, the Salos' savings are gone. Mel, now 70, is living in the Becker-Shoop Center nursing home and Maribel is living in their house in Sturtevant. She can't work because she cares for Mel all day, and her money is running out.

"At night I go to sleep thinking, "How am I going to pay for this?'" Maribel said.

She's not alone. A recent study found medical bills accounted for 62 percent of all bankruptcy filings in the U.S. Three-quarters of the people who filed had medical insurance, and the numbers amounted to one medical bankruptcy every 90 seconds.

Maribel and Mel Salo during the recording of "Mel's Story" produced for Community
for Change's Health Care Forum at the Masonic Center, 1012 Main St., 1-4 p.m.

But Maribel's case runs deeper than money. Mel's dementia consumes her life. She'd like to bring him home and have nurses help care for him there, but it's just too expensive. She's found some relief through organizations like Hospice and a local organization that provides respite care, but is concerned the nursing home staff doesn't have the time (or in some cases the interest) to care for Melvin how she'd like to see.

"I don't want them to put him by the window and forget about him," she said.

So Maribel shows up daily at breakfast, lunch and dinner to feed him and to try and stimulate his brain. She gets a few hours in the evening to herself, otherwise it's back and forth to the nursing home. Her family in Spain is hoping she'll come visit in November, but she's reluctant.

"I'm worried he won't get the care he needs," Maribel said.

I interviewed Maribel in the chapel at the Becker-Shoop Center nursing home in Racine. Mel was by her side in a wheelchair, but now, four years after he was diagnosed, he can no longer speak or walk. Only his eyes offer any type of expression. They seem bewildered.

While the Mel she describes as a handsome, outgoing man is gone, Maribel is devoted to her husband of 45 years. She visits three times daily to feed Mel - he struggles to swallow - and try anything to get his mind moving. On this day she'd just bought him a light-up children's toy Mel held in his hand. Maribel said it held his attention.

"I can do it for him because he would do it for me," she said.

But emotionally, Mel's illness is a hardship for Maribel.

"He was the person who I always relied on," she said. "He was a rock to lean on, and now I'm all alone."

She didn't have specific recommendations on how she'd like to change the health care system, she just believes there's a better way. Losing Mel to dementia is pain enough, she said but to lose a lifetime of savings just to keep him in a nursing home simply compounds the difficulty.

Maribel counsels herself she has to be strong. "You have no idea what tomorrow will bring," she said. "There is always hope tomorrow."

But the grief and stress leave their marks. "It's sometimes hard to think this way," she admits. "You think, 'Am I able to continue?'"

What would help is being home with Mel. His condition may not improve, but at least he'd be in a familiar environment with people he knew, she said.

"It would be much, much easier," Maribel said. "It would be more comfortable."

Community for Change's Health Care Forum is Sunday from 1-4 p.m. at the Masonic Center, 1012 Main St. The non-partisan event is free and open to the public.

Local group writes open letter to Rep. Ryan on health care reform

Community for Change sent the following open letter to Rep. Paul Ryan regarding their health care forum planned for July 26 in Racine:

Dear Congressman Ryan,

During a listening session in Racine last February, a Community for Change member described a non‐partisan health care event being planned for Racine this summer and asked if you would attend. Your reply was yes, if your calendar allowed. Your office was then contacted several times informing your staff we would schedule the event per your calendar. The response each time was a form letter stating prior commitments, though no specific date had been put forward. It turned out there was no convenient time in July or early August for you.

By June the planning committee set a date in late July for the forum. We contacted your staff in Janesville one more time to see if you could attend. On July 10th, the State Director of Organizing for America also contacted your Washington office respectfully requesting your attendance. Each request yielded the same form letter as before stating prior commitments.

We understand your busy schedule and your need to commit time fairly. However, we are left to wonder if you ever actually meant to attend.

Our pursuit of your presence stems from your appearances on national media discussing the Independent Health Record Trust Act wth, however, virtually no time in Wisconsin to talk locally about these issues. There is no better opportunity for you to learn and listen to the people in your district than by attending our forum on July 26, 2009 from 1 to 4pm at the Racine Masonic Center, 1012 Main Street. We wish to learn more about this important legislation and will gladly schedule any appropriate time for you to address the foum.

The Community Conversation on Health Care Reform: Expo and Public Forum is the result of hundreds of hours of planning by Racine volunteers. There will be sixty health organizations from Racine and Kenosha Counties attending an Expo that honors their hard work and edcates the public on the services they offer. Comprised of community organizations, health care businesses and individuals, the expo brings together your constituents who are on the front lines of local health care. In addition to the forum, we will host a public discussion with community leaders ‐‐ Democrats, Republicans and Independents. Volunteers will also coordinate a learning center with updates on developments in Washington and how they might be affected, and allow the opportunity to submit feedback to elected leaders. This is a free event with no corporate sponsors -- simply the people.

As the date for The Community Conversation on Health Care Reform: Expo and Public Forum draws near, we want to once again extend an invitation for you to attend and participate in this exciting and educational event. Tricia King in your Janesville office has our contact information and we look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Kelly K. Gallaher
& Community for Change Health Care Forum Team

Rally for health care reform Friday during lunchtime

Community for Change is organizing a lunchtime rally in Downtown Racine Friday in favor of health care reform. Here's a press release from the group, which describes the event as "non-partisan":

Racine Rallies to Rock Health Care Reform

Friday, July 17th 2009

The public is invited to join local and state organizations to rally in support of health care reform. The Wisconsin Health Care Reform Campaign, Organizing for America and community leaders from across southeastern Wisconsin will host a lunch time rally on Friday at 11:30 am in East Park, located at 1001 South Main St. Participants will walk down to Monument Square to enjoy Music on the Monument.

This rally is a non‐partisan event intended to bring attention to health care reform currently being debated in Washington D.C. and demonstrate the strong community desire for a plan that reduces costs, guarantees choice of coverage and ensures quality care for all. No specific health care plan or path is endorsed.

Participants who are currently uninsured or under‐insured are asked to wear red. Banners or signs may be brought, however, organizers ask attendees to make them tasteful and suitable for all ages. For questions or more information please go to OFAofSEWI@gmail.com

Organizers push individual, systemic changes to improve health care

We can fix the national health care by reforming the current system or sparking a movement to live healthier. Ryan Gleason and Kelly Gallaher, both from Community for Change in Racine, are working both angles.

Working with the group Eat Right Racine, Gleason and Gallaher met with community residents on June 17 to kick off the Neighborhood Walk Program at the Humble Park Community Center. About 20 people attended the event, which is designed to educate participants on living healthier and then bring people together for a group walk through the neighborhood.

Organizers, who also included Amanda DeSonia of Eat Right Racine, couldn't have picked a better location for the event. The meeting was held in the middle of several youth sports events and Humble Park was teaming with active families and children enjoying outside activities.

It's the type of community-based health care the Neighborhood Walk Program hopes to promote throughout the Racine area. But while organizers promote individual responsibility, they're also looking for Racine to weigh-in on the national debate over health care reform as Congress prepares to consider changes to how our system provides medical coverage.

Community for Change is hosting a "Community Conversation" on health care reform on Sunday, July 26 from 1-4 p.m. at the Masonic Center, 1012 Main St. in Racine.

The volunteer-driven event is designed to educate the public on competing plans for health care reform, gather local input on the debate and then send off a message to Washington D.C. to hopefully influence national discussions.

June 17's Neighborhood Walk Program was the continuation of a growing Racine-wide discussion on healthier living. Eat Right Racine is promoting better nutrition, particularly for children, and that's a prominent part of the six-week program based in Humble Park, which was chosen because of the strong support of Alderman Greg Helding. (Week 2 is Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Humble Park Community Center, 2200 Blaine Ave.)

Week 1 of the Neighborhood Walk Program focused on exercise. Marina Day, health and wellness coordinator at the YMCA, gave a talk on proper ways to get blood pumping and burn calories. Here's a couple of tips from Day:

1. Drink lots of water, but not Gatorade (unless you're doing high-intensity workouts for long periods of time).
2. Eat before exercising. If you workout with food in your stomach, you could end up burning muscle instead of fat.
3. Work in a variety of exercises. Washing and waxing the car, biking, dancing, water aerobics, shoveling and stair walking at home are all examples of exercises that will work the heart and muscles.

Day added that teen girls, in particular, should be encouraged to be active. While boys often are involved in sports, girls' activity tends to wane as they get older, she said.

To bring home the importance of exercise, Day said one in three Americans are overweight, 13.5 million suffer from heart disease and one in four people are not physically active. The message: We all could use some more exercise.

Here are photos from Week 1 of the Neighborhood Walk Program:

Marina Day talks about different levels of exercise. She recommended moderate exercise where you can feel the work, but you're not over-exerting yourself.

Participants walk in place and lift their arms over their heads. If you go out walking, Day said, exaggerate your arm and leg movements to get your blood pumping.

Following Day's session, the group went for a walk. Here they are at the end of the 15-minute walk around Humble Park.

Notes from the post-election parties ...

We were out at the post-election parties last night. Here's a few observations:

* Bob Turner was classy in defeat. He called the Dickert campaign and offered congratulations, and said he'd work for Racine in the Assembly. "If Racine wins, I win," Turner said.

* Not surprisingly, his party at Park 6 on Sixth Street was subdued. Alderman Michael Shields, Mayor Tom Friedel, Bev Hicks, Jameel Ghuari, Jim Spoddick (who owns the Park 6 building) and Pete Karas were all there when I got there at 9 p.m. WRJN's Jan Hoff was covering the party live.

* It was another rough night for Karas, who's been campaigning non-stop for several months. He helped a candidate in New Orleans run for Congress and a state superintendent candidate, then ran his own campaign for mayor and finally threw in for Turner in the last month. While a little disheartened (he lost all of the races) Karas promised he had more plans in the works.

* Friedel, who will step down as mayor in two weeks, said in an interview that he wasn't personally conflicted by the special election. He said he knew he was serving in interim role and looked forward to returning to the City Council.

But he also said there were a few times during the candidate forums when he got the itch to jump into the race. "Listening to the candidates, I thought a few times, 'I have better answers than these,'" Friedel admitted.

But he wouldn't touch the idea of whether he planned to run for mayor in 2011. "I'm not going there," Friedel said.

* On policy, Mayor Dickert will face an immediate challenge with the budget, Friedel said. The state may cut shared revenue this year, which would force the city to cut spending.

He added the big difference between being mayor and being an alderman was the broad scope of items that come across the mayor's desk. "It can be anything from honorariums to life-and-death issues and everything in between," Friedel said.

"The mayor serves everyone every day," he said.

* The Dickert party was - surprise, surprise - lively. Hundreds of people packed Salute's on Main Street to congratulate (and, in a few cases, suck up) to the new mayor.

* Frank and Sandra Tingle attended Dickert's party. Frank boasted that he traveled the greatest distance - 4,000 mile from London - to vote for Dickert.

* Here's a question: Now that Dickert is mayor, will Tingle's lawsuit against the city go away?

* Community for Change leaders were at Salute and talked about their next project: a communitywide forum on health care reform this summer before Congress votes on the issue. Organizers are hoping to put together a nonpartisan forum to discuss the issue and call for needed reforms. U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan and other big-name politicians will be on the invitee list.

* Aldermen Terry McCarthy is now, officially, a Canadian citizen. He received his dual citizenship on April 27.

* City Council members McCarthy, Jeff Coe, Aron Wisneski, Greg Helding and David Maack were all at the party.