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		<title>Romanian immigrants dominate adult foster care niche</title>
		<description>Discuss Romanian immigrants dominate adult foster care niche</description>
		<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche</link>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:34:26 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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			<title>Excellent Care in Adult Foster Care</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3288</link>
			<description><![CDATA[My mother fell while living alone in her lovely retirement apartment. I am her only relative and was out of town at the time. Not wanting to "bother" anyone, my mom stayed alone for several days, until I came back to Portland and stopped in to visit. After rushing her to the doctor, and finding that she had fractured her spine due to undiagnosed osteoporosis, I tried to care for her in her apartment, and sustained two serious injuries to myself, and also paid over $40,000.00 to an in home care agency who I employed to give me respite time. I ultimately had to take early retirement from a job that I loved.......... ....but thankfully, our financial advisor suggested I explore the adult foster care system. I spent a couple of months visiting and interviewing over 60 of these homes in the Portland area and finally, and thankfully, found one that 1) had two entire families spread over two homes next door to each other, all family members doing care so there is always more than one person on duty 2) is convenient to my home as I had to visit multiple times a day for the first few months and now, after five years, have settled into a routine of a few times a week and 3) had an opening. The family helped me physically move my mom and the furnishings she could take with her. The food is delicious. The outlook from Mother's room is pleasant and she can watch the birds and squirrels and neighborhood walkers out her window. Housecall Providers (an invaluable service) comes monthly to check Mother as taking her to an appointment requires hiring Metro West transport as she cannot transfer into and out of my car on her own and I cannot lift her (got a hernia and had to have surgery for that trying to care for her on my own)........... ........plus a care family member would take her to appointments if necessary when I'm out of town. It is expensive...... ........but well worth every penny. I have no siblings and have a small apartment that is only mine, and not set up for even an overnight guest, much less someone requiring care 24/7. Mother's caregivers are Romanian and are thoughtful, caring, careful, competent and the next best thing to family that both she and I have, regarding her physical care. Mother is now 94 years old and in reasonable physical health except for the spinal fracture (she cannot walk) - dementia is slowly taking her mind but we can still visit when I go. Adult foster care is the only solution for our situation and we are most grateful that it exists in Oregon.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:19:24 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3288</guid>
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			<title>Stuart M.</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3271</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I was born in Oklahoma to parents of German descent. At the age of 40 I made my first trip to Romania. That was only maybe 9 years after communism fell. I met Romanians from all walks of life: farmers, school teachers, doctors, business owners, etc. They were invariably very poor by European standards (thanks to communism), however, I never met a more friendly, kind and generous people in any of my travels throughout the world (okay, the police were nothing to write home about). I was invited by farmers to eat their home-made cheese and drink their home-made wine, I was given sight-seeing tours in cities by total strangers, a truck driver invited me to spend the weekend at his mountain vacation home. I had a great time. Another thing, and some Romanians might be annoyed when I say this because they're not the same thing, but even the Romanian Roma (gypsies) I met were friendly and hardworking. I didn't just get lucky. I went there about 15 times (I lost count), I loved Romania and the Romanians so much. I haven't been there since 2003, and I miss it. What does this have to do with this article? I'm sure there are good adult foster care homes and bad ones. But I would not hesitate to live in one run by Romanians. Noroc!]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Sat, 06 Apr 2013 06:19:15 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3271</guid>
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			<title>Passionate Caregiver/Provi der</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3228</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Wow... It took me a while to read through all these comments... *** I'm sorry for those people that are "hating on Romanians" and think that adult care homes are not good. I am a second generation Romanian caregiver... my parents owned and operated an adult care home that I grew up in for over 15 years before I got married and opened my own home -- as a kid growing up in a home -- you either hate it or love it! I'm one who LOVES this kind of work... I'm VERY PASSIONATE about taking care of elderly the best that I can on a daily basis 24/7!!! and YES!!! IT IS 24/7!!! We are CONSTANTLY available ready to tend to every need! I've spent the night in the hospital with one of my residents because the family was not available to be with her... As a provider/caregi ver I go above and beyond what a normal care facility does for their residents. I have 7 brothers and sisters and we all own adult care homes in the Portland-Metro area! We have an "on-call" RN available anytime AND we work with House Call Providers which is an amazing service of doctors and nurse practitioners that visit the residents right in our homes!!! The residents truly become a part of our family! Home cooked meals, individualized activities, shopping trips, ext... MOST OF THE TIME... WE ARE THEIR ONLY FAMILY... because sadly some families barely visit :-( It is VERY insulting when I read some of these negative comments putting down Romanian adult care homes. I'm sure there are some "bad apples" out there, like in every business... but overall these homes are an AWESOME ALTERNATIVE TO INSTITUTIONALIZ ED CARE!!! I also work with 5 other providers and we help families find APPROPRIATE senior housing throughout the Portland Metro area... BASED ON THEIR CARE NEEDS and preferences NOT BASED ON THEIR ABILITIES TO PAY! There are LOTS of types of care facilities -- there's no way a regular person would know all the levels without having the experience -- Assisted Livings, Residential Care, Nursing Homes, Independent Living, In-HOME care-giving services, ADULT CARE HOMES... ext... ext... We do a full assessment of the resident and together with the family we determine what the most appropriate care setting would be for their loved ones current and future needs. How can we run adult care homes AND do placements you may ask?! Because WE ARE ACTUAL LICENSED CAREGIVERS -- Some of these "agencies" just pop out of no where with no background in health care or care giving, no one to monitor them or to license them -- no idea of the complexity of doing a full assessment in order to make a successful placement. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!! Again... there are some "bad apples" amongst agencies unfortunately.. . Overall I've had great experiences with the local ones that I've worked with -- the thing is... the services are free to the family -- but within the last few years MOST placement agencies has RAISED THEIR PLACEMENT FEES to adult care homes to 100% of the first month!! You want great examples of adult care homes on a visual basis? Here you go!!! ENJOY!!!... YES.. WE ARE ROMANIAN! www.wvsenior.com]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 13 Mar 2013 05:25:16 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3228</guid>
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			<title>placement services</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3190</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Sir, My name is Vic and I would like to start an ELDERLY PLACEMENT SERVICE as yours . Is there a path to follow to do that, specific requirements or a website I need to go so to be informed?? Sir,any help would be very appreciated!! Thank you very much!!]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:56:49 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3190</guid>
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			<title>foster homes</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3164</link>
			<description><![CDATA[somebody has to do the dirty work, they do a really good job, we had our grendpa in one of this romanian beautifull homes and they took really good care of him.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:06:51 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3164</guid>
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			<title>AFH</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3152</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I think it all depends on the home. You should get some references before choosing one. I've lived in an AFH and things where so and so . Great caregiver, cheap owner so...you get the picture... And about this : At least we know a second( or even a third language) and it's more that I can say about you guys. All the smart " americans" I've met since I moved here were Canadians, Mexicans, Koreans. I wanna see you go and start over in an non-English speaking country. You'll starve with money in your pockets! And... Nobody takes jobs from you, that's why we open this facilities, we create jobs for ourselves and your kind too. Best regards! A feisty Romanian!]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:04:05 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3152</guid>
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			<title>Hey</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3147</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Hi, Im from the UK, i am very interested in your views of these Adult Foster Homes as this is not popular here, but i think its a great idea! We have nursing homes and home care (carers visit those in their own homes who usually require minimal help.). Id like to know which is more preferrable, Nursing Homes or Adult Foster Homes, and why? x Thank you x x x]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:02:05 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3147</guid>
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			<title>EM</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3146</link>
			<description><![CDATA[My Father suffered a stroke, the Hospital keeps these victims for approx 3 weeks then ships them off to a Rehab/nursing home, where they are giving therapy and kept in their beds most of the time. When your medicare runs out on that service, you are forced to find other places or pay the rehab center over $8500 a month. We started looking at Adult Homes and there are all sorts of levels and prices. Fortunately, there are coordinators who will take you to these places. After a month at the home we chose, our family could not be happier. But it is up to YOU the family, to find the best situation for your relative. Also you need to still interact with your relative as much as possible, and make them feel not only at home with the Adult caregivers but with your love. The Romanians are hard workers, and that is what the USA is suppose to be made up of, not people who wont work or have their hands out wanting for nothing. I agree private bathrooms are a must.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Sun, 20 Jan 2013 20:48:07 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3146</guid>
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			<title>Lala</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3132</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It seems to me that there are lots of people with hate towards the Romanians and their buss ....reading the comments I can tell they don' t even know the diff between nursing care and adult care home. So as an advice inform yourselves before critising. I am also wondering where all these full hate comments are gone take us.... For sure are not gone make us any better than the ones we spoke about......I wish for those that spoke bad that they will never end up looking for care for their loved ones........... ..... Have a nice day!]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Sat, 12 Jan 2013 23:33:19 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3132</guid>
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			<title>Guest</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3117</link>
			<description><![CDATA[You people are absolutely KILL'N me on these POSTS! Quit slamming other people and other cultures for cryin out loud. Im an American and fortunately I plan on opening a top notch Adult Family home facility. I have to admit- As Americans we are AWEFUL at taking care of our elderly- it actually makes me sick. But thats why Im doing MY PART. At least Be GLAD there are people willing to do the job! And Im not sure the last time you people looked at "America", but Im pretty sure its made up of every single race and religion you can think of. We want to look better as a COUNTRY, then everyone needs to play a role- EVERYONE- all religions, all races. Quit blaming others and step up and do YOUR PART! UGGG- grow up people.... Good Grief~]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 27 Dec 2012 22:05:05 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3117</guid>
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			<title>Hkrrer</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3079</link>
			<description><![CDATA[mot any jobs you'd want. That line is worthless.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 2012 02:58:06 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3079</guid>
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		<item>
			<title>Romanian &quot;Care&quot; Homes</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3076</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Please avoid these "care" homes. Violations are terribly common, from small infractions to the most serious. Three elderly people have died after being fed poisonous mushrooms. Please demand better for yourself and your loved ones. http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20121121/WIRE/121129917/1010/sports?Title=3rd-death-at-Northern-California-nursing-home-from-mushroom-poisoning-]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 22 Nov 2012 04:06:38 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3076</guid>
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			<title>Nurse/caregiver doing AFC for 35 yrs.</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3027</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I live in the midwest and have had many people stay with me over these 35 yrs. They say your family is who you make it, and most of the people I've cared for have become "family". I care for 2-3 people at any one time. When someone passes away, I may wait a year or more to find someone else to put in their room. I have to wait until I'm ready. I realize I'm lucky to be able to do this. Now a word about fees. The only time I will accept Medicaid is if someone who has been staying with me a long time runs out of funds. At that point, I'm not about to make them leave. The medicaid rate here is between $850 and $1000. The last time someone went on medicaid, she paid 10.88 per day for room, 10.88 per day for food out of her Social Security. Medicaid won't pay for room and board. Medicaid paid me $340.00 for 730 hrs. of work. That's under $0.47 per hr. and I got the highest rate! The last time I worked for 47 cents I was 12 and babysat. (this was almost 50 yrs ago) Medicaid rates need to be adjusted up-way up.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:31:17 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-3027</guid>
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			<title>RE: Romanian immigrants dominate adult foster care niche</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2985</link>
			<description><![CDATA[go to whipple creek senior estates in vancouver washington]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 26 Sep 2012 02:17:48 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2985</guid>
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			<title>Wiser Now</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2936</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I will speak from experience with romanian foster care both personally and professionally. In the vast majority of homes it is a lie to say the care is 24 hrs/day. At best, it is probably about 12 hours so take that into account when comparing prices. People who are not independent with ambulation are usually put to bed right after an early supper and are left unattended and confined to their bed, as the caregivers go 'off duty' for the evening to have family time. Frequently the family quarters are far removed from the residents making it hard to hear calls for help. Residents are frequently left alone for 12 hours or more. This means that people who could go to the bathroom if they had help are forced to be incontinent instead and are placed in diapers and left in them for 12 hours or more, even if wet or dirty. This can lead to falls as residents try to get out of bed alone. It can also contribute to skin and circulation problems and insomnia and anxiety from lying confined and feeling helpless for so many hours. The vast majority of these homes have no employees, it is just a husband/wife and their kids and they do work hard. But they have to have some family time and sleep, so that means that unless a resident is having an emergency (bm's are NOT emergencies), they are left alone at night. They can be very harsh to residents who disturb them at night 'unneccesarily' . This also can mean limited visiting opportunities in the eve. for family who work and can't get there during the day. There are numerous other issues, such as lack of formal skills, communication problems and cultural differences I won't go into here. These homes can be a good fit for people who need help with activities of daily living but still have a measure of independence and can walk about on their own and tend to their own needs at night. I don't recommend them for people who are not ambulatory on their own due to the night time confinement and abandonment, unless the home has someone who is paid to be up at night as often as needed - but you will pay a very high price for that. I recommend residential care facilities (a state designation) instead - up to 60 residents - as these facilities will have 24 hr. awake care givers and provide more help and supervision than assisted-living .]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Sep 2012 16:16:00 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2936</guid>
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			<title>recommendations</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2913</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Does anyone have any great recommendations for Residential Care Homes in Portland, OR? Thanks.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:55:56 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2913</guid>
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			<title>former client lee f. evans, jr.</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2904</link>
			<description><![CDATA[for a short period of time i had to stay in loridana tosa's home on 14th drive in gresham, due to a health problem i had. i do not recall a single time i had any negative times with her. in fact, she, her mother, husband, and children all made me, a black man, feel at home... i'm thinking about returning to portland, and with my health being as it is/parkinson's disease, and i hope loridana has an apartment open, or a nice room, i want to try to get it, i am in kentucky, and when i read the thing, full of lies about the romanians'nursi ng- home, and treatment, i have to react, due to my been in more than one home, either as a resident or visitor, when my late wife was a resident in them... i like these hardworking people, and wish all of them the best of success, and would love to hear from loridana, anytime. she and any of the others may contact me by e-mail... lee f. evans, jr... thank you lori and john, do you still have the goats and calves?]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Aug 2012 05:25:19 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2904</guid>
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			<title>Advisor for a placement agency</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2852</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I've been in the industry now for several months. now Most of the RCFE purveyors I meet are Romanians. I have never a more caring, clean,safety conscious loving peoples. Some mention neighbors who complain about having multiple tenants in the neighborhood. I suppose a family with 6 kids running around outside would be preferable? I think not.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:01:11 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2852</guid>
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			<title>A provider myself</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2822</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I am a little late to the party on this but as a provider myself, there are a few points that are missing. I am native Oregonian and operate 2 AFH's out of the PDX area. We have specialized homes with additional staff at each and have 9 employees. For those that suggest we keep jobs for Oregonians, I would almost like you to attend an interview when searching for a new employee. Most people we interview are disgusted that they have to assist with showers, feeding, and even wiping a behind or 2. Many people just don't want to work. In regards to national standards and state rules, Oregon was one of the first to implement rules to oversee AFH's. Other states follow a basic standard but a national level would take away the local authority to resolve problems. As the article states, the Romanians understand the value of taking care of family. Us Americans are many times only interested in what mom/dad, grandma/grandpa are leaving them in the form of an inheritance. It is not a glamorous business and operates 24/7/365. Even with employees, we have not taken a vacation in several years. I am not complaining, I chose to do this. The rewards are not always monetary and has plenty of satisfaction. If you are looking for placement of your loved one, shop around. As with any business, there are good and bad apples. Not every home is the same and sometimes if you like a home, it may not be the best fit for others that live there. Also in comment to state payments.... They are much too low. In my area, $3800 / month is what is expected for level 3 residents. The state pays about $2200 for that same resident. The costs for the provider are the same: payroll, mortgage, utilities, etc. If you are looking to place someone whose bill is being paid by the state and are told there are no openings, now you know why. Thanks for allowing me to clarify a few things!!]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Guest</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jun 2012 23:34:15 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2822</guid>
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			<title>Astounded by lack of national policy</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2704</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This article is interesting and personally timely for me as I am considering how to handle my Father's recent diagnosis with early dementia. My sister and I are currently sharing our homes with him while he still has moderate levels of independence. I have been blown away by the lack of national policy for the care of our elderly. It is mind boggling what is going to happen when all the baby boomers need care. Everyone is living longer but not necessarily with independence. My sister and I cannot place him in assisted living because he is too forgetful for that service and needs more help than is provided there, he is too healthy for nursing care so we are lucky right now to be able to help him in our families. We want to keep him in a private home as long as possible but it is good to know that foster homes or nursing homes are next phase options.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Portlandval</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2704</guid>
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			<title>Interesting article and responses</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2700</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As an AFC provider who has "worked their way up" to ownership of one of 8 providers licensed to provide our level of care in the State I feel my Wife and I are probably qualified to weigh in here. She and I started in AFC in '94 coming from baccalaureate level mental health positions which paid next to nothing. In recompense we received such luxuries as shouts from State workers by way of insults when we turned in our vouchers for payment when they were on strike, no income taxes withheld and long hours spent questioning whether the contribution we were making was worth all the sacrifice. I can safely say now with hindsight that it was. One of the themes in the article seemed to be about how "homelike" the atmosphere was. In fact that is defined and explained in the Oregon Adminitrative Rules. The problem is in how we define homelike and who interprets it. I myself being raised in suburban Multnomah/Clack amas County for my first 20 years might have an entirely different opinion of what "homelike" is from yours or your providers. Another issue mentioned was finance. It goes without saying that the Medicaid rates are atrocious at best and in fact a good many smaller/newer homes could not make ends meet during the current "bust" of Federal funding and ended up closing due to unfavorable economic conditions not substandard care. Which leads me to address the substantiated complaints. I agree that 27% is way too high, even with it being 6% better than Nursing Homes. However in my experience having had a few unfoundeds thrown at us for good measure, we do NOT see the institutional-c ausal errors that you see with the poorer staffing ratios, systemized response and overall general overwork that contributes to neglect/abuse as defined by OAR and the most of us in general, consumer or provider. Better funding/trainin g for providers and licensing staff would be a great help in addition to a non-adversarial approach which would help make the inspection process a lot more transparent to all concerned and would lessen the violations and substantiations . And now to speak to the specific posts in regards to this article. 1. My Family came down the Columbia on a covered wagon loaded onto a Barge. We are proud 3rd generation native Oregonians and I do not wish to subscribe to the fallacy of immigrants taking our jobs as the same things have been said for far too long. If you want it bad enough you will pour your very soul into it and will be rewarded by your efforts. Nothing else to be said except get off your duff and make it happen instead of grousing why it isn't delivered with the mail. 2. As far as impact on local Neighborhoods.. .damned sorry but everyone voted in the Americans with Disabilities Act and equal access to Housing was one of the guarantees. As far as I know density of occupation according to local laws was NOT amended or superseded so the idea of "tons" of extra occupancy per house is nonsense. The extra vehicles and traffic would be necessary in any home setting for dependent folks, are you suggesting stacking them like cordwood would be better? 3. Ever since my Wife and I have been providing we have taken less than one of our full-time employees in any given Month. Lose a Resident? Too bad. You are still responsible to provide your employees not only with a living wage, but to do the best in their behalf much the same as you do for a Resident. Resident goes to Hospital for routine procedure? Good deal except for you aren't paid for while they're away and still need to make Payroll. As I said, interesting topic and responses. Everyone WILL be affected by the choices we make now and I think it behooves us a nation to think about the consequences of our actions and how we vote with our money and politics. It's food for thought........ ..]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Flappy</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Tue, 22 May 2012 07:50:17 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2700</guid>
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			<title>Taking Oregon jobs!</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2696</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Oregonians, take back your jobs. I second that comment. See the comment above: "Yes if you want to know I'm Romania. And, about Romanian??????? Yes they are more smart then others" These people come to the USA, take jobs from Americans and make comments like this. This situation is unacceptable. How does this happen? These homes are in the middle of regular residential neighborhoods but they have many times the average number of people living in them. They have excessive traffic and take up parking spaces from regular home owners. This is unacceptable.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Cogn</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Sun, 20 May 2012 17:46:18 +0000</pubDate>
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			<title>this is more for :+1 #2 Oregonians -- take back our foster care homes!!! — Anna</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2695</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Yes if you want to know I’m Romanian But just stop and think just a little beat, how good is a nursing home????????Let just take a small example in that nursing home you have 100 elderly and 20 employers Do you think they get more attention than an adult family home??????? In adult family home you have up to 6 elder (in Washington state) and 24/7, 2 employers And the elder feel like they are grandmother or grandfather inside that house About that??????? Do you think they feel the same in nursing home? In adult family home they can choices every day what to eat About nursing home? And the list can go on and on these are just very fast few examples And, about Romanian??????? Yes they are more smart then others They come here in us with nothing and in 2-3 years they have more than an average person around here is getting in more than 10 years Just drive around your city or go 10-20 blocks around your house and just look how many good houses is immigrants and others??????? And you will see most of the people they take too much for grana Romanian not Romanian they work very hard to make sure they have everything what they need and to make sure they leave something for kids]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Cosmin</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 22:49:07 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2695</guid>
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			<title>Is the level of care appropriate at an AFH?</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2404</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The previous poster stared that his father was deemed not appropriate for a senior care facility since he required 24/7 nursing care. An Adult Foster Home doesnot provide 24/7 nursing supervision, or even 12 hours per day nursing supervision. From my experience, a nurse "stops in" every now and then. The "care" is typically provided by the AFH owner and a CNA, at best. An AFH should not be allowed to take in residents who require nursing supervision during the waking hours, yet many of them do. The question is whether the $4,000 - $5,000 spent monthly at an AFH would be better spent at a licensed assisted living facility where your loved one can have the privacy of his or her own bathroom and receive the benefit of nursing supervision from 8:00 am - 8:00 pm. An important component of maintaining one's dignity is not sharing a bathroom. No matter how spotless or homey an AFH might be, the fact that your loved one shares a bathroom makes AFHs undesirable, in my opinion. If the cost were half of what a licensed assisted living facility charges, I could see where an AFH makes sense, but at $4,000 - $5,000 monthly, you will get a much higher level of care at an assisted living facility and more privacy although the assisted living facilities have a greater number of residents.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Dolly</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:52:48 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2404</guid>
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			<title>Adult Foster Care</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2363</link>
			<description><![CDATA[My father lived with us for the last 12 years of his life but for the last six months it became clear that we could no longer provide the care that he needed on a 24X7 basis. We had intended to put him in a senior care facility but his doctor said he needed more care than they could provide so the choice became a nursing home which we were not thilled about until someone mentioned adult foster care homes, which we had never heard about. We found a great home in Beaverton ran by a great family and they took wonderful care of my father until he passed away in their home. I have a Romanian employee who has modified his residence in Vancouver as a adult foster care home as well.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>David Rich</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:52:55 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2363</guid>
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			<title>I own a free service that helps seniors find the best housing option for them and I've been very impressed with the Romanian care homes</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2360</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I'm originally from San Jose where all of the Adult Foster Homes are owned by the Filipino population and they do an equally wonderful of taking care of seniors. By the way, I personally choose to call these homes Residential Care Homes because of the negative, degrading and inaccurate term "Adult Foster Home." I've definitely noticed the Romanian caregivers do a great job "technically", but I can say that in making a huge generalization some lack the warmth and sensitivity that the Philipino caregivers provide while administering care. I'm pretty sure America is at the top of the list for our spot-on reputation of being one of the world's worst perpetrators when it comes to taking care of our elderly. We seem to discard them or be quick to put them in a nursing or residential home before as family units trying to figure out a way to let them stay in our own homes. I never understood why families don't come together and pool their money and figure out a way to keep mom or dad in one of the children's homes. It very sad. I've worked as an Occupational Therapist with seniors from 2001 to 2009, and now own a company that provides a free service for families where I help them locate the most appropriate senior housing option for their mom or dad . With more than 1,000 care homes in Portland-Metro I wish more families new about free agencies like mine. MY agency is called Senior Housing Locaters and can be found by clicking this link here . Great article, and I'm very grateful for the Romanian and Eastern European population in the Northwest because they make my job so much easier by finding my clients wonderful care homes, faster!]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Scott Kemp</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:31:58 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2360</guid>
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			<title>For Anna</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2270</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Sorry to hear about your bad experience with the adult foster care homes but maybe you've been looking at the wrong homes. I worked in a foster care home and i visited many nursing homes and if i had to choose i would absolutely go to a foster care home. As for who goes where and who owns the home it's one's private matter... If you didnt like it, dont go there...]]></description>
			<dc:creator>caregiver</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:47:20 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-2270</guid>
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			<title>Oregonians -- take back our foster care homes!!!</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-1877</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This is not good. Americans need to get back to caring for their own elderly! I have seen many bad things happen at these Romanian foster care homes. Yes, they are big and glitzy and pricy houses...but very sadly lacking in love at the ones I saw. A glitzy side for the public to see - but go behind the scenes and you may find something entirely different. Oregonians, wake up! You do NOT want to end up in a Romanian foster care home!!!]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Anna</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:14:24 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-1877</guid>
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			<title>RE: Romanian immigrants dominate adult foster care niche</title>
			<link>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-1811</link>
			<description><![CDATA[i think that it is great that you are taking care of the elderly, because in this country they put them in nursing home and forget about them, so if you are making money while you are caring for them i say more power to you i am looking to start my own elder care in my home, so if you could give me some advice i would gladly appreciate it.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>margaret bubb</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:50:33 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.oregonbusiness.com/articles/87-july-2010/3703-romanian-immigrants-dominate-adult-foster-care-niche#comment-1811</guid>
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