MOUNT PLEASANT – Christine Dean, RN, CHPN, is serving in a newly created role at East Cooper Meals on Wheels. As the organization’s community health liaison, Dean is working to increase awareness of the nonprofit’s Feeding Friends program for those who are temporarily homebound. Feeding Friends offers options such as fully prepared lunch and dinner meals, breakfast items for the pantry, and a monthly supply of Ensure or Glucerna for patients recovering from surgery, severe illness, or injury. The program is designed to reduce hospital readmissions due to inadequate nutrition and to relieve the burden of preparing a meal for patients whose primary focus should be on rest and recuperation.
Dean is focused on developing relationships with medical professionals that serve residents of Mount Pleasant, Sullivan’s Island, Isle of Palms, Daniel Island, Cainhoy, and Wando. In her role, she works with everyone from physical therapists and primary care teams to home health agencies and hospice providers, providing patient education materials and employee training about the benefits of Feeding Friends. Having spent the last 10 years in geriatric and hospice nursing, Dean brings a wealth of experience and insights about the importance of incorporating nutrition into a patient’s overall care plan.
“The Feeding Friends program is a wonderful resource for our patients. Preparing a healthy meal can be so difficult when you don’t have the energy or even the physical ability to stand at the stove after a surgery,” said Kay Moore, a social worker at MUSC’s transplant center. “This partnership gives us an opportunity to improve our patients’ quality of life during recovery, and they love the food,” she said.
Local medical professionals who would like to schedule a staff presentation or request more information about Feeding Friends can connect with Dean at cdean@ecmow.org or 843-478-8041.
Through the delivery of meals by a caring volunteer, East Cooper Meals on Wheels aims to improve the health and quality of life for the homebound in Mount Pleasant, Sullivan’s Island, Isle of Palms, Daniel Island, Cainhoy and Wando. Our mission extends beyond the poor elderly to include anyone of any age who is homebound for any length of time and/or unable to independently prepare a meal. We envision a community in which all of our homebound neighbors live nourished and connected lives with independence and dignity.
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