Promoting senior independence

WORLAND – Sometimes, as people age, they find themselves in need of a little bit of help, help that may mean the difference between staying in their own home and being independent or having to move into a senior facility. That help may be the home-delivered meals program provided by the Worland Senior Citizens Center.

The program gives that little bit of help by delivering nutritious lunches, for a voluntary contribution of $4 per meal, not only to seniors who are homebound but also to seniors who, after a minor medical setback, need a boost to regain their independence.

"We are here to help seniors stay in their homes longer. We offer it to those who are unable to cook, like if someone is able to be in their home but it's not safe to cook," Worland Senior Citizens Center Kitchen Manager Bernita Bauer said. We also offer it to seniors who just need that extra boost. If they just got out of the hospital or the nursing home and just need that little boost to get back on their feet and resume their normal daily living activities, she added.

Bauer explained that to qualify for the program, seniors are interviewed about their abilities to perform ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) and IADLs (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living) and if they fall within the bracket of ADLs and IADLs then they receive meals. She stated that an example of ADLs is bathing, eating and the ability to get around the home. An example of IADLs is being able to fix a meal, balance a checkbook, take medications on their own and clean their own home. "There are more questions than that, that fall into those brackets, but those are the basics," she said.

Meals are delivered around lunch time five days a week and consist of, for example, a half a cup of potatoes and vegetables, four ounces of meat, a salad, bread, dessert and milk. Two meals can be delivered per day if the senior would like to have a meal for dinner. "If somebody wants it for supper, that's fine but a lot of them, as we age our appetites aren't there, so a lot of them split the meal, eat part for lunch and the rest for supper," Bauer said. Weekend meals are also available and can be delivered frozen before the weekend or two meals can be delivered on both Thursday and Friday, if the senior doesn't want it frozen. Frozen meals are also delivered ahead of time to those that wish a frozen meal on holidays when the center is not open, she added.

Seniors are given complete control on what they eat and how many times per week they receive their meals. Bauer stated that a calendar with the menu is sent out where the seniors can choose to receive a meal on a specific day or not. She also stated that all meals are diabetic friendly and that they are willing to try to work a bit with what is wanted but that they don't do special diets. "There are some meals that some seniors can't eat, for example those with acid reflux, when we have chili or spaghetti, yeah they are going to decline that meal. We do try to work with our clientele, like if someone is missing a lot of teeth making it hard to chew, we will grind the lettuce or cabbage to make it easier for them to eat it. There are things that we adjust too so that everyone can have it. But it's their call to say yeah or nay on what they are going to eat," Bauer said. "We only sub out on two things; one is liver and the other is fish. If they don't like liver we will sub out another beef product and we will sub out chicken for the fish," she added.

Many seniors who participate in the program have children who live somewhere else. By having meals delivered, the seniors are checked on at least once per day, five days per week. "With a lot of our seniors, their kids don't live here so our route drivers are our eyes. If they deliver for a whole week they can see a change, if there is a change in a person then they will tell us. Then the family knows that someone has been in there in the middle of the day and checked on their loved one and that they are OK. If a route driver comes back and says that they are concerned about someone then we will give them a call and check up on them," Bauer said.

Volunteers deliver the majority of the meals. "With our routes, we have 11 churches that volunteer throughout the year to deliver within the city limits. There are four routes and they are each about five miles long. Then we have a staff member that goes five miles outside the city limits. Anyone beyond that, if they would like meals we can fix up a variety of frozen meals and a family member comes in and picks them up," Bauer said.

Jerry and Mary Ellen Girard volunteer to deliver meals through their church in February and also volunteer to substitute throughout the year when there aren't enough drivers. They explained that the route can take them between a half an hour and an hour because they stop and visit with each senior, bringing meals and human contact to the seniors and dog treats to any dogs. Mary Ellen Girard stated, "It is fun, it is one of the most rewarding things that you can do, we enjoy it so much. Sometimes we are the only people these people see in the day time."

Bauer and Worland Senior Citizens Center Kitchen Supervisor Carol Cole stated that they can always use volunteers to help with this program. It's a win-win situation. The volunteers are glad that they have the opportunity to do it and the seniors get a little companionship and get checked on. During the summer months the drivers bring their children who look forward to seeing the seniors and learn about community service and how to give, while the seniors enjoy the children who remind them of their own grandchildren. Plus they added, some students need community service to attend college and receive scholarships and what better way to get it.

"We would like to see more people use the program because we know that there are a lot of seniors out there that could use our program but it's just making people aware that we are here," Bauer said.

Contact the senior center at 347-3208 for more information about the home-delivered meals program.