“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” [Luciano Pavarotti]
‘Food, glorious food, can’t wait til I get some.’ and ‘Please, sir, I want some more.’ Words to describe my relationship with food, though I hope never to have to sing for my supper.
I love preparing different dishes and trying new recipes. I love eating! In fact, I have the appetite of 3 men and a boy, living with a rapid metabolism which is often a common feature of persons doing battle with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy who are able to move about whether on wheels or walking with supports; I burn calories just breathing in and breathing out. The most recent new recipe tried was for honey glazed pork roast, prepared in the slow cooker.
Perhaps those within the ranks of government need to develop more efficient recipes to improve quality of care of those who are most risk by changes to their quality of life - the elderly and infirm. They would do well to consult some seasoned cooks as menus for daily institutional living are rewritten.
“Aging care experts weigh in on proposed changes for nursing homes” titles a recent commentary in The Daily Gleaner. Other articles in the various provincial newspapers discussing changes to spending for nursing home food to be served to residents have given me pause. Should I be alarmed? I think perhaps I should be concerned - not so much for me at this stage, but for those whose quality of life and their relationship with food may impacted by government entities believing they’re doing good things. In their logic, they claim that patients would not be lacking in proper nutrition with the proposed changes. I’m sorry, but I cannot accept that. I’m not convinced!
Attempts to save money on food costs by reducing funds spent cannot be a good thing in the grand scheme and to suggest that patient ‘quality of care’ won’t be compromised is a bit unsettling. Those holding that belief haven’t met me and don’t know my previous history with regard to hospital nutrition. Any significant downturn in my own health status could potentially find me as a member of the nursing home set and should that happen, a caution to all patient attendants - be very afraid! I’ll be expecting both a cold meal and a hot meal, three times a day - plus morning snack, afternoon snack and evening snack. No, I’m not kidding!
Back in the 1980s, a one-month stint as a patient in the now defunct Northern Carleton Hospital in Bath, New Brunswick, with a dislocated elbow, will attest to my propensity to consume copious food. The dietitian who interviewed me about my food preferences seemed shocked and understandably so! I was rail thin then, just as I am now, over two decades later. The ravenous appetite is still a feature of my wobbly walking life. It takes a lot of energy for me to get from place to place.
Were I resident in a nursing home today, I’d be quite worried about not only the quality of care I’d receive as a person with ‘special needs’, but also whether I’d have access to sufficient nutrition to fuel a body compromised by neurological deficit. My fears are not unfounded, if what’s planned with policy changes on nursing home operations are going forward.
A reduction in quality of care with staff reductions, along with a concurrent change in nutrition may well be a recipe for disaster no matter how the key players choose to spin it, and it saddens me to know that one of the greatest joys for so many - eating good food - may be in jeopardy, if only in a small way, according to the policy makers. Time will tell.
What I believe needs to happen is for patients to tell, or if they are unable or choose not to be a ‘boat rocker’, that their nearest and dearest speak up on their behalf. Anyone who prepares several family meals a day for years will always say how nice it is to eat a meal they didn’t have to make — to just sit down at a table with family and friends to enjoy good food and good conversation. Let’s hope that residents in nursing homes will enjoy nutritious, quality food. They deserve that and so much more.
We have a duty, morally, ethically and legally to protect the most vulnerable amongst us. One of the very few joys many older people have left is food, snacks, and treats. Let us keep close watch on those chipping away at the 3 square meals a day menus to ensure that what they say is what they mean.
Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with her aging Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca
