We know leaving a hospital stay can be stressful, especially if resources like food or even a few healthy prepared meals, are not available. While community resources that can assist with nutrition are available, not everyone knows what they are or how to access them.
Because access to nutrition is a basic Health-Related Social Need, Mercy is making it one of the priorities of patient discharge planning.
As part of our commitment to reduce health disparities and recognizing the pivotal role of nutrition, Mercy Foundation and CHI Mercy Health are partnering with Oregon State University Extension Services, Evergreen Family Medicine, the Friendly Kitchen and Sherm’s Thunderbird Market to bridge the gap between medical care and access to nutrition-based resources. This new program was launched in November 2023, the result of a major gift to Mercy Foundation and a Community Health Improvement Grant from CommonSpirit Health.
OSU Extension Services coordinates stocking the hospital food closet with nutritious food items and frozen meals. Patients who indicate food disparities, or who are unable to prepare their own meals upon discharge, are connected to a community health worker. At the bedside before being discharged, the community health worker will help enroll patients with appropriate services, such as the Oregon Health Plan, SNAP benefits and home-delivered meals.
In addition, each person goes home with two to three weeks of food supplies, recipes from OSU’s Food Heroes program and the necessary tools to help our patients cook and enjoy these delicious recipes.
Mercy is just one of three hospitals in Oregon offering this service, and the number of people we have assisted so far has exceeded initial expectations. While Mandy Hatfield with OSU is pleased to see the participation in the program by Mercy’s discharge planners, nurses and patients, we have capacity to serve more patients.
One patient recovering from hip surgery had tears in their eyes when the community health worker supplied them with two weeks of food upon leaving the hospital. As someone living alone in an outlying community and without transportation, the meals were a lifeline to healing which underscores the holistic relationship between food, health and community. Tying this all together is a continued mission for Mercy Foundation and CHI Mercy Health.
Lisa Platt, Mercy Foundation president, said, “this program is one of the ways we live our core values of building community resilience through supportive health and wellness initiatives.”
More information: 541-677-4818.
https://www.nrtoday.com/news/guest_submission/food-is-medicine/article_73ebec3c-e0a1-11ee-b1c8-7b72c99f744c.html
