Volunteer program boosts seniors’ nutritional intake

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's lunchtime at Hallmar, Mercy Medical Center's nursing care facility in Cedar Rapids, on a recent Thursday afternoon.

And as nurses pass out meals to residents in the dining area, two volunteers wearing black aprons with white script reading 'Silver Spoons” sit beside resident Dorrance Brady to help him with his meal.

The Silver Spoons program pairs nursing care residents with volunteers during mealtimes. The volunteers provide assistance to residents who need assistance eating.

'We identified opportunities of improvement - one of which was to enhance the dining experience,” explained Emily Reddish, the nurse manager at Hallmar who spearheaded the program.

Inadequate nutrition is common among the elderly, according to the Mayo Clinic. This is due to a variety of reasons that include older adults having trouble chewing and swallowing, dietary restrictions or health problems that can lead to a decreased appetite.

About 12 of Hallmar's 50 residents need assistance during mealtimes, Reddish said. But nurses often have tight schedules and can't always provide one-on-one assistance.

So Reddish began researching ideas and came across the Silver Spoons program used in a few hospitals on the East Coast.

'We fine-tuned the process and collaborated with the other hospitals,” she said, adding she didn't come across a similar program among Midwest hospitals during her research.

Reddish started the program this summer and has so far recruited three volunteers. But she hopes eventually to have enough volunteers to have several handy for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.

Benefits

Meal assistance can provide benefits to the patients as well as the hospital or care center, Reddish said.

Silver Spoons gives residents the opportunity to take more time to enjoy their meal through companionship and conversation, she said, which can improve their quality of life.

And family members aren't always able to visit during meal times, so knowing that a loved one has help can help ease their minds.

But it also works toward increasing residents' nutrition intake - which keeps them healthier, aids in maintaining their body weight and improves wound healing - while also freeing staff to perform other tasks.

A National Institutes of Health study found that patients consuming at least three-quarters of their meal rose from 55 percent to 76 percent when they were fed by volunteers.

Volunteer Cindy Barrios has seen first hand the difference the program can make. She said that since her time helping Dorrance Brady, he's become more talkative.

Barrios, who retired as Mercy's clinical manager of speech pathology in June, said it's also important for residents to receive one-on-one attention. Nurses often have to feed more than one person at a time, she said, which makes it hard for residents to engage socially.

'Eating is a social activity,” she said. 'Talking helps keep people sharp - communication is important.”