Meals Are Tasty, Healthy & Social

Mealtimes are important events in the typical Wellness Care Senior Living at Ojai day. For our residents, it is a chance to enjoy nutritious foods and satisfy their appetite. They look forward to tasty meals, many cooked from scratch. While they are enjoying the flavors and textures, we are making sure they are served a balance meal that includes the four food groups.

These gatherings also provide opportunities to converse and mingle with friends and family. And for those who struggle with communication, they still benefit from being amid the chatter and camaraderie. The meals also provide consistent segments in the daily routine. This helps many of our residents stay within their comfort zone.

The Staff Is Involved In Many Ways

Mealtimes are very active for our staff members. Of course, there is the preparation, the serving and the clean up. They also socialize with the diners, as much as they can. However, there is a lot more going on while our residents please their palates, often with foods and recipes that reflect the era they grew up in.

• Our staff (and family members, too) help those residents who have difficulty using utensils and/or need encouragement to eat the foods necessary for maintaining one's health.
• Our staff (and family members, too), look for changes from day to day, meal to meal. Has appetite increased? Decreased? Is energy level as high as yesterday?
• Our staff brings changes to the attention of our administrators. From there, adjustments to the individual care plan may be made. When appropriate, the doctor and family are informed.
• Our staff encourages the residents to socialize with one another during mealtime.

By being so diligent during mealtimes, we feel we make the dining process more productive, more rewarding, more social and more enjoyable.