The Oregon Caregiver FALL/WINTER 2022 www.ohca.com 24 PROFILE Rep. Lisa Reynolds (D-West Portland) POLICY MAKER Representative Lisa Reynolds (D-West Portland) serves as the Chair of the Committee on Human Services, as well as Vice-Chair of the Committees on Early Childhood and Behavioral Health. Outside of her legislative work, Rep. Reynolds is a pediatrician in Portland. In this interview, she shares how her passion and experience in healthcare influence her policy interests and decisions. What have you learned about Oregon’s long term care sector that you didn’t know before you took office? I’m certainly learning about it as a daughter. My dad is currently in an assisted living facility in Chicago, and I’ve had to navigate the process with my mom. I’ve known for a while that Oregon has been a leader in home-based and community-based care for seniors. I’m just starting to delve into the long term care sector; it’s complicated and it’ll certainly be a big part of my understanding of work next year. What are your policy interests? I’ve had a 25-year career as a pediatrician and I’m still seeing patients. I see what’s working and what’s not working for families, and what really motivated me to run for office was that I felt like there was more I could do for children and parents than what I could accomplish in the exam room. What a lot of it comes down to is: Oregon is juggling a lot. We are in the process of implementing paid family leave and sick leave. We have universal home visits. We’ve done Medicaid expansion and Oregon is one of the few states in the country that covers all kids. I’m really focused on the medical care of prenatal to three years old because I know that what we put into place for families in those years can have very long term implications, even in aging. I think there are some lifelong trajectories we can try to put people on that could have a positive impact in aging. I’m focused on upstream investments. We don’t spend enough resources at the beginning of life, but it really pays itself back in huge dividends. What connections can you make between our early years and our late years? You’ve probably seen the cartoon of a person crawling in the diaper and then walking with the cane and then they’re in a diaper again at the end of life. It is an interesting circle of life. Both times in life require substantial help—people are in vulnerable situations, whether you’re a two-month-old or an aging person who’s having physical and mental decline. A lot of times, kids and older Oregonians can’t often advocate for themselves, and we need to seek out their voices in the policy-making process. I will say that I have a severely mentally ill brother who lives in a nursing home and has for several years in Chicago. I know that for him to have autonomy sometimes means he’s in unsafe situations. Where do we draw that line between giving people autonomy and not just lip service autonomy, but also really making sure that they’re safety side boards in place? I think that’s threading the needle almost at every age of life, but probably really comes to its height in adolescence and then for older Oregonians. As your new role as Chair of the Human Services Committee, what do you hope to tackle in the 2023 session? I’m really inspired by the people who do the work—both in the agency and among advocates—and the people who have lived experiences and are willing to share that with me. I want to really figure out where the pain points are in I’m really inspired by the people who do the work—both in the agency and among advocates—and the people who have lived experiences and are willing to share that with me.
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