Meals on Wheels of Northeastern PA, Inc.

All Agency programming directly focuses on food insecurity and social isolation in clients. Both issues have worsened since the onset of the pandemic.

Approximately 70 percent of homebound individuals do not receive appropriate caloric intake. Undernutrition contributes to loss of lean muscle mass and has been associated with increased rates of hospitalization. According to the PA Department of Health, Lackawanna County has a higher hospital admission rate, worse reported health outcomes and higher premature death rates than the rest of the state. In 2019, it was reported that 44 percent of surgical hospital visits were for individuals 65 and over. By filling a void in the health and human services system, the Agency's programs provide a cost effective, statistically successful alternative to personal care and in-home nursing. This allows health and human services providers to more effectively allocate their financial and human resources.

The Agency strategically supports low and moderate socioeconomic communities with services delivered directly to homebound community members. The service delivery model extends the continuum of care directly to an individual's home. This eliminates the barrier of access; whether it is a lack of transportation, finances, or resources.

Meals on Wheels of NEPA provides nutrition and support to homebound seniors. The core program, Home Delivered Meals, provides hot, nutritious meals to vulnerable populations, consisting primarily of older, homebound adults. With every meal delivered, there is a wellness check which include fall risk assessment and nutritional risk assessment. Community Health Initiatives and other programming of the Agency provides support to its clients.

Participants are considered food insecure and are at higher nutritional risk because of their inability to obtain and prepare fresh meals. Undernutrition contributes to loss of lean muscle mass and may lead to greater functional impairment and decline. It is also associated with increased rates of hospitalization. Home-delivered meal programs can reduce mortality, co-morbidity, need for home health services, nursing home placement, and hospital readmissions.

HDM enables older and disabled adults to remain in their own homes, extending their independence and quality of life, while living within their communities and out of nursing homes for as long as possible. This lessens the burden of the increased aging population on the long-term care facilities.

The Agency uses number of meals delivered to measure the program’s impact. With each meal counted, a wellness check has accompanied it. The number of referrals made from outside agencies for additional home and community-based services including the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging (AAA) are also monitored. By providing regular contact with clients, MOW NEPA builds a rapport that decreases social isolation and helps fight depression. This program maximizes these regular visits to a vulnerable population and coordinates visits in such a way to assess outcomes and monitor changes in condition.

Result outcomes for clients in this program include decreased risk of falls, decreased hunger, and increased socialization. Longer term outcomes are improved emotional state, decreased hospitalizations, and overall improved health. The longer a client is enrolled in the HDM program, the longer they can stay in their home.

Meals on Wheels of NEPA has been in existence since 1969, and to date, has served over 5 million meals. Each day, the Agency’s clients, whose life circumstances make it difficult or impossible for them to prepare needed nourishment, receive a hot meal delivered by volunteers. In addition to keeping these seniors well-nourished, the Agency often provides the only human contact many homebound individuals experience each day.

Agency staff and volunteers operate as a complex, multidisciplinary team to develop and deliver nutritional and supportive programming that that meets PA Department of Aging's requirements while also meeting the individual needs of the most vulnerable of our population. The agency has implemented strategic processes and models to efficiently achieve quality results in a fast-paced environment.

The Agency measures the impact and success of the program with health surveys, nutritional assessments, mobility indicators, and wellness checks. This provides valuable data to follow participants' health trends and draw attention to any potential undesirable outcomes. Changes in condition are monitored including health status, physical appearance, fall risk, living arrangement, and nutrition assessment. Slighter changes can be examined graphically over time using the quantitative data, and any significant changes can be reported immediately to a care manager.

Anecdotal experiences underscore the value of HDM. A client, Stella, is a widow in her late seventies who lives alone in the home she purchased with her husband more than fifty years ago. She said, "I look forward to seeing someone every day, especially since COVID-19 began. I appreciate the visit from Meals on Wheels." Another client, Joe, is 100 years old and is able to live at home. He attributes that, in part, to his daily meal delivery. Joe offers his meal delivery provider a cordial greeting and reminds them to be safe during their deliveries. These stories from clients of MOWNEPA elevate the mission and inspire volunteers and staff to continue to provide excellent quality-of-life services for the Agency’s mission.

The number of MOWNEPA clients has increased steadily since 2016. In 2020, the need was more substantial. A 29 percent increase was followed by a 12.5 percent rise in 2021. The Agency is currently on track to serve a projected total of 1,501 individuals by June 2022, which is an 8.5 percent expected growth following 2021. Meals served by the Agency have grown by more than 200 percent over the past five years and are projected to continue growing. In addition to these clients, MOWNEPA supports other Meals on Wheels programs in the region.