Page 40 - Healthcare News Sept.-Oct. 2020

HEALTHCARE HEROES OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
The Nutrition Department at Greater Springfield Senior Services Inc.
DedicatedTeam S
By George O’Brien
everal areas at the Greater Springfield Senior Services Inc. facility on Indus- try Avenue in Springfield are still sporting St. Patrick’s Day decorations.
They were put up early last March, and they remain there ... well, because those who put them up haven’t been back to take them down.
Indeed, as the pandemic closed in and the state-ordered shutdown went into effect just before that holiday, the vast majority of GSSSI’s 250 employees began working remotely — and they have remained off site. But for some, working at home simply wasn’t an option. That’s because it’s their job to essentially provide nutritious home-delivered meals, or HDMs, as they call them, each day.
Those in Need
“We knew we couldn’t leave people behind. There were people in need, and we had to come up with a plan to get them their meals.
Rose to the Occasion and
Took Care of
This small team of 10 essential employees stayed on and weathered the storm, if you will, and devised and executed a comprehensive plan to ensure those who need these meals get them, even though the senior-dining sites that were in operation had to shut down due to restrictions on large gatherings, and all meals have to be delivered to the home or picked up at designated ‘grab-and-go’ sites.
”
The creation of that new grab-and-go program underscores just how quickly — and effectively — the Nutrition Department at GSSSI was able to respond to this crisis situation.
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OCTOBER 2020
2020 HEALTHCARE HEROES