Meals On Wheels Blog

Ways to Keep a Healthy Brain

Posted by Mariel Kalda | Posted on 14-05-2013

Category : Health, News and Information, Uncategorized

Synopsis: VIP Member, Summer Gould, discusses our brains as we age

We all know as we age that our mental abilities change. Did you know that starting in your 30’s your mental abilities start to decline? Our brains process slower and we forget more frequently. However, aging is not all bad. The benefits to aging include an increase in wisdom, experience and perspective. Just because we age and our mental ability slows does not mean that we cannot learn new things. Creating challenges for our brains can help keep our minds sharp and create a more positive attitude.

So, what can you do to keep your brain healthy?

Brain Activities: Try new things! Change up your routines; if you like cards learn a new card game. Play video games, find things that challenge you.
Stay socially active: Interacting with others challenges us to remember and respond to conversations and gives us a feeling of community.
Stay fit: Being physically active, even if it is just walking each day helps the brain with blood flow and can even help grow new neurons. It also creates endorphins that make us feel good.
Eat Healthy: Food is good for your body and your mind! Make sure you are eating well.

So, if you do all of the above and are still forgetting things, here are a couple of ways to help you remember:

Pay attention: If you are not focused on what you are doing or being told you will not remember. Make the effort to focus.
Minimize distractions: A noisy room can make it difficult to focus on conversations or other things you need to remember. Try to move to a quieter area or one with less visual distractions.
Practice: You know the phrase practice makes perfect, well that applies to memory too. Making the effort to really try to remember and doing that often will help you to remember.

By doing the activities listed above, you can combat the decline age brings to our mental ability. So with that said, getting older is not a bad thing…it’s just another opportunity to learn new things, accept new challenges and enjoy life.

If you would like to help seniors join our group Visionaries in Philanthropy for Senior Service Saturday, on June 1^st at 10am. Click here for details. We hope to see you there!

Summer Gould

Rural Meals-on-Wheels Clients Gets Additional Support Through Creative Partnership

Posted by Jeannette Cohan | Posted on 06-05-2013

Category : Community, Health, News and Information

Tags: children, Feeding America San Diego, hunger, Meal Center, Meals-on-Wheels, nutrition, schools

Feeding American San Diego: A New Partner for Meals-on-Wheels

Did you know that 1 in 4 children in San Diego County are at risk of hunger and 1 in 5 San Diegans don’t know where their next meal is coming from? Feeding America San Diego (FASD) aims to put the brakes on these statistics. A visit to the FASD facility in Sorrento Valley can be an eye opening experience. The sheer amount of donated food products and the efficient processing of it by FASD for distribution are impressive. No effort is wasted in order to reach the goal of FASD to make San Diego hunger free and healthy.

FASD, a non-profit organization funded by community support distributed last than 21.5 million pounds of food to more than 73,000 children, families and seniors per week, making it the largest distributor of food in San Diego County. With the continuing help its partner agencies, local schools and corporate partners and a dedicated network of volunteers, FASD plans to distribute 30 million pounds annually by the year 2015 to those in need in San Diego.

Not only is FASD providing hands on nutrition relief, it also provides nutrition awareness and education in order to reduce the risk of malnutrition and chronic disease, and with the help of its many partners and more than 8000 volunteers annually, FASD strives to move families toward self-sufficiency. FASD turns every dollar donated into six meals day in and day out.

FASD also supplies local food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters with healthy, nutritious food at minimal or no cost in order to reach high poverty neighborhoods in rural and suburban areas of the county and those with limited access to food resources or transportation including our many in our elderly community. According to Jerry Kemp, Meals-on-Wheels Meal Center Manager, FASD recently has partnered with Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego (MOWGSD), to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to clients located in very remote areas of San Diego County where stores and fresh produce are typically far away and inaccessible. By partnering with MOWGSD, FASD joins in the effort to protect our isolated elderly from hunger in San Diego County.

Jeannette Cohan

Meals-on-Wheels Nutrition Intern

The growing Sandwich Generation

Posted by Mariel Kalda | Posted on 26-04-2013

Category : Community, News and Information, Support

Tags: caregiver support, family matters, finances, issues, planning, quality of life, retirement, sandwich generation

Studies show that the number people who fall into the “sandwich generation” has been on the rise and has grown significantly. Those individuals that belong to the sandwich generation are considered to be middle-aged adults who are responsible for children under 18 or adult children, in addition to being responsible for a senior parent. This change is said to be due to longer life expectancy of older adults and the economic downturn making it more difficult for young adults to find employment that will allow them to be financially independent. The article below describes how to avoid issues if you or someone you know is facing this type of situation.

How to Avoid Sandwich Generation Problems

Don’t let sandwich generation issues derail your retirement plans

From Sharon O’Brien, former About.com Guide

An increasing number of people in their fifties and sixties are finding themselves caught in the “sandwich generation,” a financial and emotional squeeze. If you are struggling to cope simultaneously with the costs of caring for aging parents while you help your children pay for college or launch careers–while funding your own retirement–you’re in the sandwich generation.Sandwich Generation: A New Trend The demographic trends that combine to create this new sandwich generation are relatively new. Until recently, the need to at least partially support both aging parents and adult children simply didn’t exist, and most people in their fifties and sixties weren’t part of a sandwich generation.The sandwich generation was caused in part because lifespans today are much longer than in years past, and an increasing number of retirees or near-retirees have aging parents who require costly nursing home or in-home care. At the same time, many of these same people have children who are still in college or who may return home once or twice after college or between jobs in an effort to get on their feet. Thus, the sandwich generation was named.Sandwich Generation: Number of Aging Parents and Dependent Adult Children on the Rise Increasing lifespans increase the sandwich generation size.According to the Journal of Financial Service Professionals, at the beginning of the 20th century between 4% and 7% of people in their sixties had at least one parent still living. Today, that figure is nearly 50%. And people in their sixties who end up caring for an aging parent often feel they are getting a preview of what they may experience emotionally, physically and financially as they age—and at a time when they are confronting their own mortality more keenly than ever before.But that’s only half the story. As recently as 1990, only 25% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 lived with their parents. By 2000, the number had grown to 52%—and it’s still rising, putting more older adults into the sandwich generation–caring for aging parents and adult children.

How to Avoid Sandwich Generation Problems If you’re already in your sixties, or nearly, and feeling the financial squeeze of the sandwich generation, there are still a few things you can do to lower your stress level and increase your peace of mind. You might consider working a little longer, trimming your expenses, and urging your kids to explore every option for college financial aid—especially merit grants or scholarships that neither of you will have to repay after they graduate.

If you’re in your forties or fifties, chances are you have more time to plan and make preparations before you find yourself caught in the sandwich generation. Regardless of your age, however, here are a few steps you can take that may help you manage the needs of your aging parents and adult children without getting squeezed by sandwich generation problems:

Preserve Your Assets—Don’t be a sandwich generation martyr by raiingd your retirement savings to pay for your children’s college education or your parents’ long-term care. Your kids can take out student loans if necessary, and you should use your parents own assets to finance their care for as long as possible.
Plan Ahead—Keep the sandwich generation trend in mind when you’re projecting what kind of income you’ll need in retirement. Be sure to consider the possibility that you’ll end up in the sandwich generation–one or more of your kids may need to come back home for awhile, raising your monthly costs or maybe delaying your plan to move to a smaller home. And if you have one or more parents still living, count on joining the sandwich generation as your parents may also need your financial help.
Assess the Situation Before Sandwich Generation Problems Arise—As early as possible, consider sandwich generation issues. Talk with your parents about their assets, how they want to live as they age, what kind of health care and lifesaving measures they do or don’t want, and who should make legal and medical decisions for them if they are no longer able to handle their own affairs. This may be a difficult and uncomfortable conversation for you and your parents, but answering these questions while there is still time to plan ahead can help you both avoid a lot of sandwich generation problems.
Get Insurance—Sandwich generation members need to plan for the future. Look into the viability of long-term care insurance for your parents and yourself. Whether it is right for you depends on several factors, including the cost of the coverage, how long you might need it, and what kind of benefits you want. If you or your parents eventually require nursing home care, however, long-term care insurance could help offset those asset-draining costs.
Put Yourself First—Because you’re both a conscientious parent and a dutiful child, you may be tempted to put your own needs after those of your aging parents and adult children if you find yourself in a sandwich generation scenario. Don’t.The only person who can save for your retirement is you. To avoid many sandwich generation problems–and help your parents and your children–you first have to keep your own financial house in order.

Finally, don’t forget that being part of the sandwich generation and caring for others can be hard on your physical and emotional health as well as your financial well-being. To learn how you can take care of yourself while caring for others, see Caregiver Support and Caregiver Resources

Original Article

Home Delivered Meals Help Alleviate Social Isolation in the Elderly

Posted by Shiloah Kviatkovsky | Posted on 18-04-2013

Category : Health, News and Information, Support

Did you know that being more social can lead to a healthier, longer life? A recent study from the United Kingdom published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that social isolation increases the risk of early mortality and morbidity.

The study tracked 6,500 English men and women— ages 52 and older—over the course of seven years, and found that mortality was higher among men and women who reported being more socially isolated and lonely. Loneliness is thought to be a psychological embodiment of social isolation, and has been linked with an increase in a variety of disease conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, elevated blood pressure, elevated cortisol levels, and an increased inflammatory response to stress. Social isolation is a measure of social network size and social support, which typically decreases in older age due to impairment of mobility, decreased economic resources, and the death of friends. There are thought to be two major types of social support: emotional and tangible/instrumental support. Lack of social support leads to social isolation, which has been linked to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, cognitive deterioration, elevated blood pressure, increased inflammatory markers to stress, and mortality: Social isolation has been more directly linked to early mortality over loneliness.

This study is not the first of its kind, and many have shown similar outcomes. It is unknown whether social isolation and loneliness directly lead to the deterioration of health, or whether they lead a person to make less healthy lifestyle choices, such as poor diet, inactivity, excessive alcohol consumption, or smoking. The one thing that is known, is that having social relationships is central to our well-being, and social isolation and loneliness are social conditions that exact significant adverse effects on psychological and physical health, with the costs of these conditions severely impacting our seniors.

Meals-on-Wheels lends tangible and instrumental support in allowing our elderly population to stay well nourished, which allows them to maintain better physical function, mobility, and independence. The wonderful volunteers here at Meals on Wheels also offer the emotional support that some of our participants may need with their smiles and up beat conversations. We at Meals-on-Wheels are not only concerned with feeding our senior citizens, but also with giving them what they need to allow them to lead long, healthy, happy, and functional lives.

Shiloah Fuller

Meals-on-Wheels Nutrition Intern

Posted by Mariel Kalda | Posted on 16-04-2013

Category : Community, Health, Meals-On-Wheels Staff, News and Information

Tags: budget cuts, funding, government, issues, meals, Meals-on-Wheels, senior health

The effects of sequestration are taking a toll on many and Meals-on-Wheels is no exception. A Meals-on-Wheels program in central Maine has been faced with the reality that it must now start turning away applicants and reducing the number of home visits. Although Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego Inc. is not directly federally funded, sequestration impacts our organization as well. Due to the decrease of funding to other locations, more beneficiaries will be turned away and will need to come to us for help.

Even though we are mostly funded by foundations and private donations, we receive some Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) that provide resources to address a wide range of unique community needs. Meals-on-Wheels has already heard from one city that we will not be receiving funding and we will just have to wait and see if others can fund meals for seniors this year or not. We are facing a possibility of $70,000 worth of cuts. This combined with the increase of need due to the effects of sequestration, and the growing number of Baby Boomers, puts Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego Inc. in need of additional funding to replace that piece of the pie and help with the burgeoning need to help more seniors we are seeing now every day.

Read more about the cutbacks to the central Maine program, below.

Article selected from: Portland Press Herald

March 31

Meals on Wheels feeling the pinch from sequestration cuts

A central Maine program is turning away applicants and cutting back to one visit per home per week.

By MATT HONGOLTZ-HETLING / Morning Sentinel

Across-the-board sequestration cuts to federal programs mean the Meals on Wheels program is unable to deliver meals to some area seniors, leaving them struggling to feed themselves.

Waterville resident Marie Rouleau, 84, left, and Zandra Luce, a personal support specialist, work in the kitchen preparing a meal. Rouleau is on a waiting list for Meals on Wheels.

Program administrators have responded to the budget reduction by creating a waiting list for seniors in need and reducing the number of visits to the people it does serve. When the sequester took effect on March 1, federal programs were forced to cut $85 billion from their annual budgets.

Meals on Wheels is one of several programs funded under the Older Americans Act, which was included in the sequester cuts, according to Debra Silva, a vice president at Spectrum Generations, central Maine’s agency on aging.

Cuts to the Older Americans Act have a disproportionate effect in Maine, which in 2010 had the third-highest percentage of seniors in the nation, at 15.6 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Silva said Spectrum lost $106,000, or 5 percent, of its budget because of sequestration. Because the cuts were retroactive to the beginning of the year, she said, the actual effect is 9 percent of the program’s services.

In response, Spectrum has reduced its offerings, which include community dining at Waterville’s Muskie Center and support services for family caregivers. It also provides educational outreach on health insurance, heating costs and fraud. Wellness classes, which teach seniors things such as how to manage chronic diseases, also are being cut back.

The loss of services has been apparent in the Meals on Wheels program. For the past 40 years, the program has delivered meals to seniors in need twice a week. Each volunteer visit includes a hot meal and one or two frozen meals, so that a senior winds up with five meals per week. The Muskie Center delivers about 200 meals a day to seniors.

In her 16 years at the Muskie Center, Silva said, the Meals on Wheels program never has had to turn people away because it couldn’t afford to feed them.

All that changed March 1, when the program began putting seniors on a waiting list for services.

The change came at a bad time for Marie Rouleau, 84, a Waterville resident who recently suffered a neck injury that makes it difficult for her to feed herself.

“I live alone,” said Rouleau, who has never married. “I don’t have any family.”

Despite her injury, for which she wears a soft brace, she can get up and get around without any problem, but the slightest movement hurts.

Her doctors tell her that the neck will never heal, she said.

Care workers do come to her house regularly, and take her to the grocery store once a week, but mostly she sits and watches TV, although even that is painful, she said.

As for feeding herself, she no longer can lift a heavy roast or a chicken out of the low oven, or wash and cut vegetables. Lately, she said, “I’ve been living on sandwiches and TV dinners. I eat a lot of soup.”

Rouleau had been a Meals on Wheels recipient previously, and now the time to accept help had come again, Rouleau decided in early March.

However, when she called, she said, she learned that the program had stopped accepting new clients just a few days earlier. She became one of the first people in the area to be put on a waiting list that has grown to 25 people in just a few weeks.

Silva said Rouleau is an example of a new group of seniors throughout the area who are finding themselves bereft of both the nutrition and the human contact that twice-weekly Meals on Wheels visits provide.

However, “We have to stop adding more meals, because we don’t have enough money,” Silva said.

Even those seniors who continue to receive the service will feel the pinch, she said, because beginning Monday, the service is scaling back from two visits per week to just one, in which the volunteer will deliver one hot meal and four frozen ones.

Silva said the change will save money because the program reimburses volunteers for their mileage costs. Still, she said, for many homebound seniors, the volunteer visit amounts to a safety check that is as important as the food being delivered.

“It’s hard for us to have to give up one of those visits,” she said. “We understand we have no choice, so we’re trying to do the best we can,” Silva said.

The ironic thing, Silva said, is that cutting these services actually costs taxpayers more money in the long term, because a tax dollar spent providing support services to someone at home can prevent having to spend many tax dollars on providing full-time care to the same person in a nursing home or an assisted-living facility.

Original article

Featured Posts

Ways to Keep a Healthy Brain

Rural Meals-on-Wheels Clients Gets Additional Support Through Creative Partnership

The growing Sandwich Generation

Don’t let sandwich generation issues derail your retirement plans

Home Delivered Meals Help Alleviate Social Isolation in the Elderly

Meals on Wheels feeling the pinch from sequestration cuts

A central Maine program is turning away applicants and cutting back to one visit per home per week.

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