CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. -- Bruce Nance, 82, has been reappointed to the Georgia Council on Aging by Gov. Sonny Perdue. He was originally appointed in the early 1990s and is one of the longest-tenured members on the 20-member council. The council advises the governor, the General Assembly and the Board of Human Resources on aging issues.
Q: What issues have you dealt with on the council?
A: One of them was getting the $50 a month for the aging people.
People go to the nursing home and personal care homes and (the homes) take all of their money. They take their Social Security; if they have a pension or anything like that, they take that. They take all of their money for the nursing home, the proposition being that they set aside $30 a month for their personal care. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, getting their hair fixed, paying the dental bill. And $30 just doesn't get it.
So we were successful in getting the General Assembly to raise that to $50 a month, which was a great thing for people like that. These are the things that we do.
Q: What other sorts of things does the council do?
A: I'll give you an example. Our coroner in Catoosa County, Vanita Hullander, she had an aging issue and it was cause-of-death reporting. She wanted the doctors to pinpoint the cause of death for these old people that were dying in the hospitals and nursing homes and other places. And we almost had that passed.
She presented that to the Coalition on Aging. The coalition then voted that one of their top priorities -- which the Council on Aging honors -- and they made it one of our top priorities to get the cause-of-death reporting passed. But the coroners jumped in and wanted to add some money to the bill and pretty much killed it. If we hadn't had the money added to the bill, we could have got it passed three or four years ago.
Q: What kinds of issues do you see in the future?
A: One of our issues is a continuing issue and that is funding the home and community-based services. That's a budget issue.
Creating a Department on Aging. Right now the Department on Aging falls under the Department of Human Resources and we want the Department of Aging to stand on its own. We want a direct line to the governor through the Department of Aging.
The Parent Protection Act (and) the human services transportation coordinating council are the top 2010 (Council of Aging) priorities.
If we can maintain even two or three of those we'll be lucky this year. The funding for everything is going to get cut.
Q: How have things changed since you were appointed?
A: The state doesn't have any money is the biggest change that has been made.
One thing that has changed is that, when a person goes into a nursing home and dies, the state will take whatever assets she has left to pay for her bill in the nursing home except in certain cases. That has changed. That was a big change. Our council opposed that, but nevertheless it passed.
Q: Has the council taken a stand or any action with health care reform?
A: I advised my council that I wasn't going to open up that can of worms. We haven't done anything. I don't think we have taken a stand on that, although personally I'd like to see my grandchildren have government-sponsored health care the same as I have.
PERSONAL GLANCE
Name: Bruce Nance
Age: 82
Position: Member, Georgia Council on Aging
Hometown: Chickamauga, Ga.
WHAT IS THE COUNCIL ON AGING?
The Georgia Council on Aging advises the governor, state lawmakers and state agencies on aging issues and advocates to improve quality of life for the aging. More information is at www.gcoa.org.