Meals on Wheels of Metro Tulsa, Inc.

PROJECT PURPOSE

Meals on Wheels of Metro Tulsa (MOWMT) delivers nutritious meals, friendly visits, and safety checks to help homebound and disabled seniors cope with three of the biggest threats of aging: hunger, isolation, and loss of independence. Wellness check phone calls help seniors combat the effects of social isolation, loneliness, fear, and depression. Care Navigation Case Managers work with clients to design individualized plans of care and provide additional community resources. Beyond the four counties we serve around Tulsa, our 14 newly acquired sites across western Oklahoma provide congregate and home-delivered meals for food-insecure seniors. We will serve an estimated 832,000 meals to 9,000 individuals in 2022. The senior population is the fastest-growing demographic in Oklahoma. And our state ranks first in the U.S. for senior citizens threatened by hunger. The annual cost of delivering daily meals and wellness checks for a senior is $1,292. In contrast, a single day in the hospital for a patient who cannot pay is about $1,971 (American Hospital Association, 2018). When patients cannot pay, Medicare/Medicaid costs to the community increase. MOWMT supports vulnerable, food-insecure individuals while benefitting the community.

EVIDENCE

Healthy eating can increase mental acuity, resistance to illness, energy levels, recuperation speed, and management of chronic health problems. According to America?s Health Rankings website, 60% of preventable hospitalizations among our client demographic are tied directly to nutrition and limited social contact. Meals on Wheels has seen a 36 percent drop in hospital stay rates after only 30 days of service. We can deliver a year?s worth of meals, wellness checks, and case management for roughly the same price as one night in a hospital. Additionally, 90% of recipients say MOWMT improves their health and makes them feel more secure.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

MOWMT delivers nutritious meals and support services to vulnerable populations and those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic: disabled seniors, at-risk students, and low-income families in under-resourced communities. About 75% of service recipients are age 60+ and about one-third live alone; 97% live near the poverty line; 66% are female; 43% identify as a minority race; 14% are disabled veterans. The pandemic exacerbated the existing obstacles for these individuals. Homebound seniors became more isolated (increasing the risk of depression, falls, and hunger), at-risk students could not get meals during the week from their schools, and families who were low-income or lost jobs were struggling to feed themselves. The senior population is the fastest-growing demographic in Oklahoma, with one-third threatened by hunger. Lack of nutritious food leads to increased health problems.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Outcomes are tracked through ServTracker®?s Nutrition Services Module and accompanying Mobile Meals app. MOWMT currently uses this database to track client data. Upon client intake, Care Navigation Case Managers work with clients to design individualized plans of care and provide additional community resources, along with collecting relevant client demographic information. MOWMT evaluates success by tracking these outcomes monthly, reporting progress to its executive staff, and developing solutions to enhance these outcomes if they start to lag behind goals and expectations. Recipients are surveyed yearly to ensure the quality of service and to assess additional needs.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma