Lutheran Service Society of WPA
Meals on Wheels (MOW) Volunteer Impact

Description:   The program is a continuation of the currently funded project that includes recruitment of additional MOW volunteers, training and evaluation of the impact of friendly visits on seniors’ ability to remain in their homes.  United Way funds will be used for staffing and software costs, as well as costs associated with volunteer recruitment, orientation, and training.

The Program Serves a Population with Great Needs:  The program impacts frail and vulnerable seniors, ages 60 and older, and adults with disabilities, who are homebound and/or have impairments that prevent their ability to shop for and/or prepare nutritious meals.  In Allegheny County, Lutheran Service Society operates 29 different kitchen and/or distribution sites serving homebound elderly and adults with disabilities who live in more than 75 Allegheny County municipalities (e.g., Aspinwall, Avalon, McKees Rocks, Ross, Braddock Hills, Carnegie, Ingram, McKeesport, Rankin, West View, Duquesne) and more than 55 Pittsburgh neighborhoods (e.g., Mt. Oliver, Arlington Heights, California-Kirkbride, Central Northside, East Hills, Fineview).

The Program Achieves Measurable Results:  More than 3,000 volunteers are trained to check in on the more than 2,000 participants when delivering meals to ensure that the homebound elderly/disabled person is not in need of services and/or medical attention. These visits have prevented hospitalizations and even untimely deaths, but until now there has been no organized effort by the agency to document the impact of these interventions.  The first year of the project focused on building the infrastructure to capture and report data timely and reliably.

The Program Applies a Sound Approach: Research links adequate nutrition (provision of a nutritious meal) with enhanced immune response, decreased hospital admissions, and improved physical and cognitive functioning.  Studies have shown that programs with repeat visitation result in fewer hospitalizations for participants.

Alignment with Preferred Outcomes and Likelihood of Community Change (in the first year):

• Seniors remain safely in home/least restrictive community setting (194 of 200 tracked, or 97%)
• Seniors have access to adequate/improved nutrition which improves health and/or functional status (170 of 200, or 85%)

Community Impact:  The program engages more than 3,000 volunteers per year and serves more than 2,000 participants.  The model continues to evolve and the agency, via leadership roles, shares best practices, such as mandatory face-to-face visits. The program has the potential to impact all MOW programs by documenting and proving the effectiveness of the volunteer visit combined with the nutritious meal on the homebound elderly/disabled person’s safety and ability to remain their homes.