For many Tri-City seniors, this holiday is not a holiday from hunger.

December 5, 2011 by

Every day, through no fault of their own, older adults are faced with heartbreaking choices. And the harsh reality is that many are forced to decide between medications and food on the table. Or heating their home and paying their mortgage. Throughout this holiday season, we expect to deliver 15,750 meals to homebound Tri City seniors who otherwise would not have any food.

We cannot do it alone. Your financial contribution will sponsor a senior’s meals and reflect that they are not forgotten. You will make the difference between hope and hopelessness. Or in the words of one our seniors, “My Meals On Wheels volunteers bring food for my soul and hope for my journey!”

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Forgetting to turn off the stove can make some seniors averse to cooking.

February 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Last month I did an assessment on a man, close to 90 years old, who came to the US from Ireland. He says he really likes Meals On Wheels because the food is nutritious, and if he’s not hungry when the meal comes, it is easy to heat it up in the microwave later. He tries to make Irish stew at least twice a month but finds that once he walks away from the stove he forgets about it. ”I can’t tell you how many times I make stew and burn it,” he says. ”I use to be a good cook, but not anymore.”

His daughters have warned him about the dangers of both cooking and driving, at age 90, but he pays no attention to them and drives to see his wife who is in a nursing home in Hayward. He has a great need to see her everyday. He left his wife in Ireland with 4 kids to come to California to get a job. She had to raise the kids alone for years before he had enough money to bring everyone over.

Notes from the Field
Barb Proctor, Meals On Wheels Assessment Coordinator

 

Filed Under: Meals on Wheels, Senior Meals & Nutrition, Volunteer Opportunities Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Have a healthy heart!

February 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

February is American Heart Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. The most common heart disease in the United States is coronary heart disease, which often appears as a heart attack. In 2010, an estimated 785,000 Americans had a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 had a recurrent attack. About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one.

LIFE ElderCare’s Meals On Wheels program helps seniors learn about heart healthy eating by including nutrition tips and information on the back of every monthly MOW menu. This month we featured information about diseases and conditions that put the heart at risk and the signs and symptoms of a heart attack. (To learn more about heart disease, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) website).

Sometimes seniors already know about these signs and symptoms because they learned about them the hard way — by dealing with the disease itself. One gentleman in his 80’s, who recently experienced heart failure and hospitalization, called to tell me that he recognized that his own nurse, while visiting him at his home, had symptoms of a heart attack and he called 911 for her.

You never know when you might be called upon to save a life.

Barbara Emge
Meals On Wheels Coordinator

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Kind and gentle, 90-year-old woman is a favorite with volunteers.

January 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Just signed up a new client. She is 90 years old, a retired teacher who lives on her own in a mobile home in Fremont. Because she has a speech impediment I went to her home to do the initial interview/assessment. Her name is Myrtle and she learned about VIP Rides from a friend that lives in the same mobile home who had used VIP Rides and was pleased with the service. Myrtle greeted me at the door with a hug and she led me into her kitchen where she had milk and cookies ready for me.

After explaining the program to her she was eager to set up her first appointment. She had a doctor’s appointment later in the week and was concerned that she might not have a ride. I assured her that a volunteer would be available for the appointment. After her first ride, Myrtle was delighted with the service and set up two more appointments. So far, every volunteer that has helped Myrtle would like to do so again. Her kind and gentle ways are a gift.

Lori Vogel
VIP Rides Coordinator
510-574-2096

 

Filed Under: Positive Aging, Senior Transportation, VIP Rides, Volunteer Opportunities Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

With VIP Rides, an active, 82-year-old woman now feels safe and confident about getting out in the community again.

January 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I recently got a call from a man who was looking for a way to help his mom get to her monthly appointments. After researching transportation options on the Internet, he thought VIP Rides sounded like a good choice. I explained the program to him and he said it was just what his mom needed. I then called his mom, Claire, to tell her about the service. Because she has a slight hearing problem we decided to meet at her Fremont home where she has lived for over 40 years and raised both her children.

While her children now live out of the area, she enjoys good communication with them and finds that they are happy to help her find the resources she needs to continue living independently in her own home. Her limitations are similar to many women her age, she can no longer drive and finds it difficult to do the simple things she once enjoyed.

After I explained the program to her she didn’t hesitate to get started. Her first adventure was a trip to the grocery store. She was so comfortable with the volunteer that after getting home she called and said VIP Rides was just like having a friend take her.

In addition to regular trips to do her shopping, she has also scheduled twice a week physical therapy appointments. “I now feel safe and and confident about getting out to do I what I need to do,” she says. “I attribute this to to the VIP Rides program.”

Lori Vogel
VIP Rides Coordinator
510-574-2096

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Meals On Wheels helps homebound, obese woman get one healthy meal a day.

January 24, 2011 by 1 Comment

We all know how hard it is to lose five to ten pounds. But what if you needed to lose 300 pounds? Where would you start? One woman in our Meals On Wheels program is starting with one healthy meal a day. At close to 500 pounds she is unable to shop or cook, and has not left her home in two years. While she does have friends who bring food to her every week, it is not the kind of food that contributes to healthy eating habits or losing weight.

Her weight started ballooning after a serious car accident in which many of her bones were broken. After going through many surgeries she has struggled to adjust to the changes in her body. Being unable to walk for many months, she gradually stopped participating in activities that she had previously enjoyed and started relying more and more on friends for her basic needs.

Obesity can lead to a number of chronic health problems but one problem that is rarely discussed is clothes. While there are stores that specialize in clothes for overweight people, they are of no use to those who cannot leave their home to shop, or who need to have their clothes custom made. Recently, she found someone who has sewing skills who has agreed to help her design a few new dresses. I put her in touch with a City of Fremont case manager to discuss the many programs that are available to help Fremont residents who are disabled and she was very grateful.

Notes From the Field
Barb Proctor, LIFE ElderCare Meals On Wheels Assessment Coordinator

Filed Under: Meals on Wheels, Senior Health Concerns, Senior Meals & Nutrition, Volunteer Opportunities Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Age and happiness: The U-bend of life | The Economist

January 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When people start out on adult life, they are, on average, pretty cheerful. Things go downhill from youth to middle age until they reach a nadir commonly known as the mid-life crisis. So far, so familiar. The surprising part happens after that. Although as people move towards old age they lose things they treasure—vitality, mental sharpness and looks—they also gain what people spend their lives pursuing: happiness.

This curious finding has emerged from a new branch of economics that seeks a more satisfactory measure than money of human well-being. Conventional economics uses money as a proxy for utility—the dismal way in which the discipline talks about happiness. But some economists, unconvinced that there is a direct relationship between money and well-being, have decided to go to the nub of the matter and measure happiness itself.

Read the full article at Age and happiness: The U-bend of life | The Economist.

Filed Under: Positive Aging Tagged With: , , ,

LIFE ElderCare Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon

December 27, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Mary M. Anderson, Executive Director

Every year in December, LIFE ElderCare hosts a grand party at the Fremont/Newark Hilton to honor and appreciate their volunteers. This year’s theme, “Come Rain or Come Shine,” acknowledged the heartfelt commitment each volunteer makes to ensure that meals, transportation, exercise and companionship, are available to every homebound senior in the Tri-City area. During the past year, over 500 volunteers gave 35,500 hours to the organization.

Judy Zlatnik, Board President and Janice Futch-Claridge, Board Member

The celebration filled the ballroom to capacity with close to 300 guests that included Mayors Bob Wasserman of Fremont, David Smith of Newark and Mark Green of Union City. David Smith proclaimed the luncheon to be the one he looks forward to the most during the year. “Despite exceeding their contracted agreements every year, this organization has never put people on a waiting list to receive meals, he said. Janice Futch-Claridge, the event sponsor said, “Never in my long years of doing community work have I found more generosity, commitment and love than in LIFE ElderCare.”

Some of the volunteers shared their stories with each other during lunch. Jane Lotz and her husband Stewart have been volunteering with Meals On Wheels for twenty years. “I have delivered meals to 426 different people, she said. “I keep doing it because the people are so wonderful and the need is so great.” A group of four volunteers from the Dawn Breakers Lion’s Club talked about how they have enjoyed alternating first and third Friday meal deliveries for the past five years.

Mary M. Anderson, LIFE ElderCare’s Executive Director presented Gabrielle Chow, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Valley Care Hospital and Bill Stewart, CEO of RGW Construction the organization’s Friends for LIFE Award. Chow was acknowledged as a model partner for keeping food costs down and for working collaboratively with seniors in the Meals On Wheels program to create delicious, healthy meals. Stewart was commended for his company’s longtime dedication to the organization. “RGW is truly the wind beneath our wings,” said Anderson. “For the past fifteen years the annual RGW Golf Tournament has raised $40,000 - $50,000 to help Tri-City seniors.”

This year marks the 35th year of operation for LIFE ElderCare. In 1975 the organization delivered 350 meals a year. Last year they delivered over 95,000 meals. During the past six years, they have expanded services to include senior transportation and in-home exercise. Their friendly visitor program started in 1985. For more information, or to volunteer, visit their website at http://lifeeldercare.org.

This post was published in the December 24, 2010 issue of the Tri City Voice newspaper, as ”LIFE ElderCare celebrates 35 years of community commitment.”

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Cal State East Bay nursing students bring enthusiasm, skills and caring into educating seniors about hypertension.

December 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment

For the past six years, under the leadership of Marty Fraga, Cal State East Bay nursing students have been making a difference in the lives of our Meals On Wheels clients. Through her CSUEB course, Public and Community Health, Clinical, Marty’s students conduct in-home quarterly assessments that include health, medication and home safety checks. In July 2010, we added a new component to the assessment, a pilot program that helps seniors learn about hypertension and the importance of monitoring their blood pressure. People who enroll in the program are given a blood pressure monitor and receive training on how to use it.

Of the 200 people who have been told about the program, 53 have agreed to participate. A few people have initially said no to joining because they get their blood pressure checked when they visit their doctor. But a person’s blood pressure goes up and down during the course of a day. To demonstrate this, the student takes their blood pressure at the beginning of the visit and again at the end so they can see the difference.

The nursing students have found a surprising number of people who have purchased a blood pressure cuff in the past but rarely use it. They may have done a reading once or twice when they first got it, but then never bothered to use it again. Other people have the cuff but don’t want to use it because if the reading is high, they think they will feel too stressed. A few people have said they don’t think it’s important to know what their blood pressure is. But like diabetes, high blood pressure can easily go undetected, and the complications from not knowing can be deadly.

The pilot program helps older adults see that monitoring can be both simple and affordable. Participants are initially asked to record three readings per day - morning, noon and evening, and then choose the time when it is highest to check their blood pressure every day. By keeping logs of their daily readings, the participants can give their doctors a much closer look at how their blood pressure varies throughout the day.

“Blood pressure monitoring should be an integral part of every older person’s health routine,” said one of the students. ”It’s easy to do, affordable and it puts you in control of managing your own health.”

Filed Under: Meals on Wheels, Positive Aging, Senior Health Concerns, Senior Meals & Nutrition, Volunteer Opportunities Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

LIFE ElderCare’s Campaign to End Senior Hunger

December 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCAzOPnusoU]
At this very moment, someone you know or love may be at risk for malnutrition. California now ranks 18th nationally in senior hunger and statistics reveal that those at greatest risk are individuals 60-64 years of age. Many of these older adults are unable to shop for or prepare meals. Our Meals On Wheels program knows first hand how tastes mature and how medication, loneliness and fixed incomes can lessen the joy of eating. Malnutrition in seniors means increased hospital stays, increased health complications and early entry into long term care facilities, as well as premature death.

Our End Senior Hunger Campaign needs your help to: 1) create an understanding of the importance of good nutrition for older adults, 2) help family members and neighbors be more aware of the signs of hunger and malnutrition, 3) keep meals going to the people who need them. Currently, close to 70% of seniors receiving meals are unable to contribute toward the cost of their meal. But since we started in 1975, there has never been a waiting list. With your help those in need of a meal will never go hungry.

A senior receiving meals recently called to say, “I always wondered what real angels look like and now I know — they look exactly like Meals On Wheels drivers. They all have those wonderful traits — unselfishness, helpfulness, dependability, kindness and heartfelt concern. My life would be filled with daily survival problems if it weren’t for my crew of angels. For a moment in time, I am reminded that I am important.”

You can help us End Senior Hunger in Fremont, Newark and Union City by donating generously to our campaign. By doing so you will be saying, “I am here for you and I care.” For further information on how you can help, please visit our website.

Thank you and Happy Holidays,
Mary M. Anderson, Executive Director

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