Dr. D. Doreion Colter: Home Care Patient
Dr. Doreion Colter
77 year old Rev. Dr. D. Doreion Colter has lived with his partner Lester in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood of Baltimore for 19 years. He holds a doctorate in theology and biblical pastoral counseling and is affiliated with First Unitarian Church of Baltimore.
As a young soldier in Vietnam, Dr. Colter was one of some 2.6 million U.S. military personnel who were exposed to Agent Orange, a deadly chemical used by the US Government to defoliate the jungle that allowed the Vietcong to hide.
As a result, he developed congestive heart failure and COPD and is considered a 100% disabled veteran for both conditions.
Dr. Colter suffers from neuropathy and needs help bathing, eating, and walking, because of problems with his equilibrium. He needs assistance with activities of daily living, such as food preparation, washing clothes, and grocery shopping.
Dr. Colter's care team consists of 10 hours a week of care from a home health aide, paid for by the Veterans Administration, with the bulk of care provided by his partner as a labor of love. However his partner also suffers from serious health care issues – so the future is uncertain.
Dr. Colter finds the biggest challenge to be not having consistent home health support.
"In four days I can have three different aides. It's frustrating because by the time they're trained, the next day there's someone new and we have to start all over again."
“I have had home care aides who have cared for me with such dignity and love. But, due to low pay, they often leave the field entirely to make ends meet for their own families. It’s unfortunate.”
His partner adds, "Sometimes we get someone who's good at what they do, and who wants to be full time, but the agency decides to send someone else."
Dr. Colter says he joined the Caring Across Maryland coalition "To do whatever I can to get … to increase their pay so that more people will stay with it." He adds, "I'm depending on Gov. Moore to keep his word and make sure no one is left behind, and to clean up the home health care system so that people get quality care from a consistent caregiver."
