Senior Whole Health Food Distribution Event
Senior Whole Health by Molina Healthcare teamed up with The Greater Boston Food Bank, Coastline Elderly Services, Inc., and Child and Family Services to kick off its partnership to provide place-based supports to seniors. Employee volunteers distributed and served nutritious foods to New Bedford seniors.
Food accessibility is important to the health and wellbeing of elderly Bay Staters. In the Commonwealth, 10%of residents ages 60-69 are facing food insecurity, making seniors more susceptible to poor health outcomes like diabetes. Loneliness and social isolation are also closely connected to medical conditions among older adults, resulting in a nearly 50% increase in risk of dementia. Through our place-based services initiative, we hope to make an impact.
To bring wraparound care to New Bedford residents, Senior Whole Health’s mobile RV was also on site to provide free blood pressure screenings to residents. Preventative testing is much needed in the Commonwealth, where 59% of residents over the age of 65 experience high blood pressure.
The Greater Boston Food Bank’s Chief Operating Officer Cheryl Schondek was among the volunteers on-site expressing in part, “we cannot do this without volunteer hands on the ground, delivering food to the client. We also cannot do this without the support that we get from donors like Molina.”
Collaborating with community-based organizations leads to innovative ways to address health inequities within our community. We are looking forward to ongoing collaboration as we work together to build stronger communities, one life at a time.
