Problems of the Aging
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PROBLEMS OF THE AGING HEARINGS BEFORE TEE SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL AND STATE ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING UNITED STATES SENATE EIGHTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION Part 5.-Eugene, Oreg. NOVEMBER 8, 1961 Printed for the use of the Special Committee on Aging U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 75660 WASHINGTON: 1962 SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING PAT McNAMARA, Michigan, Chairman GEORGE A. SMATHERS, Florida EVERETT McKINLEY DIRKSEN, Illinois CLAIR ENGLE, California BARRY GOLDWATER, Arizona HARRISON A. WILLIAMS, JR., New Jersey NORRIS COTTON, New Hampshire OREN E. LONG, Hawaii FRANK CARLSON, Kansas MAURINE B. NEUBERGER, Oregon WALLACE F. BENNETT, Utah WAYNE MORSE, Oregon PRESCOTT BUSH, Connecticut ALAN BIBLE, Nevada JACOB K. JAVITS, New York JOSEPH S. CLARK, Pennsylvania FRANK CHURCH, Idaho JENNINGS RANDOLPH, West Virginia EDMUND S. MUSKIE, Maine EDWARD V. LONG, Missouri BENJAMIN A. SMITH II, Massachusetts WILLIAM G. REIDY, Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL A'ND STATE AcTIviTiEs JENNINGS RANDOLPH, West Virginia, Chairman CLAIR ENGLE, California EVERETT McKINLEY DIRKSEN, Illinois HARRISON WILLIAMS, JR., New Jersey BARRY GOLDWATER, Arizona OREN E. LONG, Hawaii WAYNE MORSE, Oregon ALAN BIBLE, Nevada FRANK CHURCH, Idaho EDMUND S. MUSKIE, Maine EDWARD V. LONG, Missouri NOTE.-Thirteen hearings on Federal and State activities in the field of aging were held and they are identified as follows: Part 1-Washington, D.C. Part S-Spokane, Wash. Part 2-Trenton, N.J. Part 9-Honolulu, Hawaii. Part 3-Los Angeles, Calif. Part 10-Lihue, Hawaii. Part 4-Las Vegas, Nev. Part 11-Wailuku, Hawaii. Part 5-Eugene, Oreg. Part 12-ilo, Hawaii. Part 6-Pocatello, Idaho. Part 13-Kansas City, Mo. Part 7-Boise, Idaho. II CONTENTS CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES Page Dr. Wesley G. Nicholson, chairman of panel, and chairman of State council on aging -618 Dr. Robert M. Heilman, member of panel, and director of chronic disease and licensing of care facilities of the State board of health -619 Dr. Ennis Keizer, member of panel, and chairman, Oregon State Public Welfare Commission -621 Ray A. Ziegler, member of panel, and director of Senior Worker Division, Oregon Bureau of Labor -624 T. C. James, member of panel, and chief of field services, division of voca- tional rehabilitation in Salem - 627 Dr. Ralph P. Christenson, member of Committee on Aging, Lane County Medical Society -641 Dr. R. K. Hoover, member, Committee on Aging, Lane County Medical Society -643 Dr. Donald Watson, assistant director, School of Business Research, University of Oregon -645 Robert G. Campbell, executive director, Housing Authority and Urban Renewal Agency, Lane County, Springfield - 648 J. D. McDonald, president, Oregon AFL-CIO, Portland -650 Hon. Robert W. Straub, State senator, Lane County -652 Guy Benton Johnson, Jr., president, West-Central District, Oregon Con- ference on Social Welfare -657 Dr. Idella M. Evans, president, Oregon chapter, National Rehabilitation Association, Portland - 662 Mrs. Irene M. Trippett, president, Emerald Empire Council for Aging, Eugene -_ 665 Grover Slayter, Eugene -671 Kenneth Horton, Eugene -674 Mrs. Gladys Sharon, Veneta -674 Clark Landaker, Eugene -675 Francis Coon, State president, Social Security Clubs, Inc., Philomath-- 677 Hugh Miller, Lake Oswego -679 Hon. Edwin Durno, U.S. Congressman from Oregon -680 Mrs. Paul Trippett, Eugene - 682 Mrs. Bobbie Hooker, former State president, Social Security Clubs of America, Inc., Albany - 683 STATEMENTS Campbell, Robert G., executive director, Housing Authority and Urban Renewal Agency of Lane County, Springfield -648 Christenson, Dr. Ralph P., Lane County Medical Society -641 Coon, Francis, State president, Social Security Clubs, Inc., Philomath, O reg - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 677 Durno, Hon. Edwin, a Congressman from the State of Oregon - 680 Evans, Dr. Idella M., president, Oregon chapter, National Rehabilitation Association, Portland -662 Hartung, A. F., international president, International Woodworkers of America, AFL-CIO, prepared statement 684 Heilman, Dr. Robert M., director, chronic disease and licensing of care facilities section of the State board of health- 619 Hooker, Mrs. Bobbie, former State president of Social Security Clubs of America, Inc., Albany, Oreg-683 Hoover, Dr. R. K., member, Committee on Aging, Lane County Medical Society -643 m IV CONTENTS Page Horton, Kenneth, Eugene, Oreg -674 James, T. C., member of panel, and chief, field services, division of voca- tional rehabilitation in Salem - 627 Johnson, Guy Benton, Jr., president, West-Central District, Oregon Conference on Social Welfare, Eugene -657 Prepared statement -659 Keizer, Dr. Ennis, chairman, Oregon State Public Welfare Commission 621 Landaker, Clark, Eugene, Oreg -675 Lindholm, Richard W., dean, School of Business Administration, Uni- versity of Oregon -646 McDonald, J. D., president, Oregon AFL-CIO -650 Miller, Hugh, Lake Oswego, Oreg -679 Nicholson, Dr. Wesley G., chairman of panel, also chairman of State council on aging -618 Prepared statement -630 Sharon, Mrs. Gladys, Veneta, Oreg -674 Slayter, Grover, Eugene, Oreg -671 Straub, Hon. Robert W., State senator, Lane County, Oreg -652 Trippett, Mrs. Irene M., president, Emerald Empire Council for Aging, Eugene, Oreg -665 Trippett, Mrs. Paul, Eugene, Oreg -682 Watson, Dr. Donald, assistant director, Bureau of Business Research, University of Oregon -645 Ziegler, Ray A., director, Senior Worker Division, Oregon Bureau of Labor-624 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Cumulative report on senior worker employment problems as they relate to Oregon, by Ray A. Ziegler - 690 Description of Sunset Home, Eugene, Oreg -669 Letters to Senator Morse from: Clark, Myrtle R representative of State retired teachers and presi- dent, unit 7 of Lane County, dated December 4, 1961 - 699 Rock, W. H., Portland, Oreg., dated December 7, 1961 - 700 Sutton, J. B., Eugene, Oreg., dated November 8, 1961 - 700 Report of 10-year plan, by Oregon State Council on Aging - 633 Suggested studies and research projects - 633 Senate bill 17, approved May 25, 1959, by the Oregon State Senate -689 PROBLEMS OF THE AGING WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1961 'U.S. SENATE SuBcommIIrEE ON FEDERAL AND STATE ACTImTms, SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING, .Eugene, Oreg. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuait to' notice, in Harris Hall,' Lane County Courthouse, Senator Wayne Morse, chairman, presiding. ' Present: Senator Morse. Also present: Congressman Edwin Durno, Oregon. Committee staff members present: William G. Reidy, staff director and specialist on health and medical care; Miss Dorothy McCamman, expert on social security; John Guy Miller, counsel for the minority. Senator MORSE (presiding). The hearing will come to order. It gives me special pleasure to- participate in a hearing conducted in my hometown. This is an official hearing of a subc6mmittee of the U.S. Senate's Special Committee on Aging. It is one of a series of hearings being held by similar subcommittees in over 30 cities throughout the United States within these next 2 months. Everything that is said here will be recorded, printed, and distributed to all Member of the Con- gress and to thousands of State legislators and scholars concerned 'with the problems that confront our older people in the United States. This hearing and the one which I held on Monday in Portland are important to all of us here in Oregon: This is our opportunity to get our views on the record; our opportunity to let all the people who help write our Federal laws know just what the people of Oregon be- lieve to be the problems that confront people growing old in our part of the country. This is an opportunity to say for the record what you think can be done about the problems besetting oui' olde'r'people and their children now, and what can be done to see to it that these same problems do not confront the youngest person in this audience when he reaches the Biblical age of threescore and ten: When we 'speak of the aging, we speak for ourselves and of our- selves. What we may do to, or for, or with those of our fellow citi- zens who are already aged we do, not for them, but also for ourselves. What problems we solve for them, we also resolve for ourselves. That which we leave undone for them, may well be left undone for us when we reach the same age. This hearing is your chance to participate in the lawmaking proc- ess of our Government. The facts presented here, the ideas and opin- ions expressed here will be carefully studied and weighed against those voiced in other parts of the country. All will be carefully 615 616 PROBLEMS OF THE AGING analyzed and those which seem of national import will be translated into legislation and sent to the appropriate Senate committees for action. That is why I insisted that hearings be held here in Eugene and in Portland, in my own State. I want the voice of Oregon to be heard in the Halls of Congress, and I want Congress to know what we are already doing in our State for the aged. That is what these hearings are for, and this is how we are going to proceed with them here today. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal-State Activities in the field of aging, I wish to point out that this morning's session will be devoted to the testimony of expert witnesses, representing the State of Oregon and others active in the field of the aging. I am particularly interested in bringing out today just what our State and local efforts are on behalf of the aging. Our elderly citizens now constitute 17 percent of the total Oregon adult population; that is, those over the age of 21. In 1950, persons 65 years and older made up only 13 percent of the adult population. That was 1950. This is a vital statistic, and I want to repeat it. In 1950, persons 65 years and older made up only 13 percent of the adult population of the State.