Nutrition
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Home sweet home. It seems home gets sweeter as we get older. An AARP study reports that, if given a choice, 77% of older Americans want to “age in place,” or stay in their homes through their golden years.
There are many reasons for the strong preference for aging in place. It reduces stress associated with having to move and adjust to a new living situation. Often, staying in one’s home saves money because nursing homes and assisted living facilities can be costly. Importantly, aging in place supports independence, allowing older Americans to continue their preferred routines, stay connected with social circles and continue pursing hobbies and pastimes.
Help in the home
But aging in place also often requires extra support. That’s driven growth in the home health sector. There are more than 3,600,000 home health and personal care aides in the U.S ranging from nurses to aids to caregivers, who make it possible for many older Americans to stay at home as they age. These professionals manage a range of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) including assisting with bathing, dressing, cleaning and meal preparation.
Home-delivered meals
Of the ADLs, meal prep takes the most time. It’s also one of the most important things a home care professional does because consistent access to good nutrition is critical to keeping older Americans healthy and out of the hospital.
But providing nutritious meals, including menu planning, grocery shopping, cooking and serving food takes many hours a week. That cuts into the time caregivers have for other ADLs. Plus, many of them aren’t trained to accommodate different dietary restrictions such as a low-sodium diet, a gluten-free diet or physical limitations like oral health issues that make it painful to chew.
Better together
Given the demands of meal planning and prep, many families, health plans and agencies are using a hybrid model that combines home meal delivery with home health care. Meal delivery services free up caregivers to provide more focused personal care such as managing medications, assisting with mobility, supporting physical therapy and providing much-needed companionship for people living alone.
Home-delivered meals offer:
- Balanced nutrition designed to combat malnourishment and help manage chronic conditions
- Meal choices to help preserve dignity and independence, and encourage meal consumption
- Convenience – most home delivered meals can be heated quickly in the microwave
- Budget-friendly meals, both for those who pay out-of-pocket as well as those covered by a health plan or government-sponsored program
Improving health outcomes and savings
Studies also show that home-delivered meals can also improve health outcomes and reduce hospital readmissions as well as reduce total cost of care.
Health Plan of Nevada, a UnitedHealthcare® Company, partnered with Mom’s Meals® to create a pilot program to support diabetes management, by better engaging its members as well as addressing food and nutrition insecurity, and upstream drivers of health. In addition to receiving two meals a day for eight weeks, participants with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes took part in disease management that included counseling.
AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia and Mom’s Meals have been partners since 2015. In 2022, an analysis was conducted for AmeriHealth Caritas DC managed Medicaid plan members facing health risks. Members were identified to participate in a meals program appropriate to their health condition. Participants in the post-discharge program received three medically tailored meals a day for two weeks and nutrition education from registered dietitians.
A study by Tufts University estimated that expanding national access to medically tailored meals for patients with diet-sensitive conditions could result in:
Mom’s Meals home-delivered meals can help
The combination of home health care and home-delivered meals for older individuals who are aging in place also supports other intangible, but valuable, benefits. By reducing daily meal prep time to just minutes a day, without compromising nutrition, caregivers can focus their attention on the client’s other needs, like companionship, that improve quality of life and make home even sweeter.
Our home-delivered medically tailored meals are at the core of the integrated solutions Mom’s Meals offers. Additional food as medicine solutions include produce and pantry boxes, oral nutrition supplements, shelf-stable, halal and kosher meals, and nutrition counseling and education.
About Mom’s Meals medically tailored meals:
- 9 delicious menus, 60+ meal choices and a wide range of options
- Designed by registered dietitians and professional chefs to support most common nutrition-sensitive conditions as well as dietary needs and preferences
- Ready in minutes
- Crafted from high-quality ingredients and free from ingredients like added MSG, partially hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, added trans fats, artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, and preservatives banned in the European Union
- Produced in USDA and FDA-inspected facilities, providing the highest level of compliance with federal regulations governing food production
Find out how some individuals may qualify for home-delivered Mom’s Meals at no cost to them.
