South Shore Elder Services Provides Special Meals for Seniors with Special Diets

SSES Nutrition Department offers special meals which are diabetic, pureed, ground or renal, for elders with health issues. These healthy, low salt meals are prepared on special order. A senior or his/her family member, caregiver or a referral source, should contact the Information, Outreach and Referral Department and state they would like a special meals diet. An Information Specialist will complete the initial intake information then make a referral on the elder's behalf to the Nutrition Department.

Then, the Nutrition Assessment Specialist at SSES will complete the screening, which includes a visit to the elder’s home, and as part of the intake process, obtaining the name of the elder’s primary physician or in the case of a patient receiving kidney treatment, their Renal Nutritionist. Then SSES Nutrition Assessment Specialist verifies the special diet with the physician/renal nutritionist and secures the appropriate forms. Special diet meals commence once the signed forms are received from the doctor/renal nutritionist. Nutritional supplements such as Ensure, Boost or Sustacal are also provided to seniors who have been identified as needing the additional calories during the day.

Meals for special diets as well as traditional “Meals on Wheels” are delivered Monday through Friday to elders in communities served by SSES: Braintree, Cohasset, Hingham, Holbrook, Hull, Milton, Norwell, Quincy, Randolph, Scituate and Weymouth.

The “Meals on Wheels” program is available to anyone aged 60 and older (and their spouses) who are homebound and who are unable to prepare their own meals. All of the regular home delivered meals are heart healthy and low salt.

Hot meals are also served at SSES’ central dining centers located within all 11 communities for seniors who are able to travel and who want to socialize with their peers.

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South Shore Elder Services is a non-profit agency that provides valuable resources and services to elders and caregivers throughout the South Shore area. They are located at 159 Bay State Drive in Braintree, MA. For more information contact (781) 848-3910 or visit their website at www.sselder.org.