When patient David Carter’s weight dropped after a long hospitalization, he knew he needed extra help preparing nutritious meals as he recovered because he doesn’t cook much.
He turned to JPS Social Worker Brittany Touchon, who connected him to Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County. Its volunteers began delivering hot, healthy food to his Fort Worth home five days a week. The weight has returned, and Carter calls Touchon his hero.
Carter, 66, meets with Touchon every few weeks at the JPS Magnolia Health Center, a primary care clinic for patients age 60 and older. Geriatricians – physicians who specialize in care of older patients – and nurse practitioners lead a team of nurses, pharmacists, social workers and other team members to provide for the unique heath care needs of aging adults.
Touchon helps patients with social needs, connecting them with community resources, and enrolling and maintaining benefits like Medicaid and Medicare, she said. She helped Carter secure an identification card and helped him receive personal items provided by the JPS Foundation.
“She helps me with social security and getting food stamps. She can do all of that online and I don’t know how to do that. I’m getting some benefits that I would not have gotten because I didn’t know about them. She is my favorite person,” Carter said.
Getting signed up for Meals on Wheels helped Carter eat a better variety of foods.
“I had gotten down to about 120 pounds,” he said. “I got my weight back up and cut it back to three days per week. I might stop it, but I eat things now that I wouldn’t on my own. My cooking experience is minimal. They’ve got something different every day. I’m eating my greens.”
Carter had an unusual request at his last appointment. He had gotten a notice from his bank of a new $6 monthly charge to get his statement mailed to his Fort Worth home. It would be free to get it via email, but Carter didn’t have access to email.
He asked her to help walk him through the set up process for a gmail account on his mobile phone. The task took just minutes.
“I could never get it to work,” he said. “It’s not a whole lot of money but it’s $72 a year. That helps a lot.”