Eligible patients will receive medically tailored meals from Meals on Wheels People (MOWP) after being discharged from Adventist Health Portland and VA Portland Health Care System in Portland, Oregon, United States, thanks to US$1.75 million in grants from Trillium Community Health Plan. The funding will continue for three years and also supports eligible household family members.
During each year of the grant, MOWP will serve two medically tailored meals per day to eligible patients, including those with food insecurity, for up to 120 days after they are discharged from the hospital. The meals will be delivered weekly to patients’ doorsteps, helping ease barriers to nutrition that many people face after a hospital stay, such as limited mobility and transportation.
“The meals funded by this grant mean nutritional support and continued connection to hundreds of patients and families during crucial and fragile times in their health journey,” Kyle King, Adventist Health Portland president, said. “Recovery can be a delicate time, and these medically tailored meals will support healing even after patients go home, thanks to Trillium and Meals on Wheels People.”
“We are immensely grateful for Trillium’s generous support, which marks a significant milestone in our journey to combat food insecurity and enhance health outcomes,” MOWP CEO Suzanne Washington added. “For the first time, we can extend our care to the families of our participants, acknowledging that health and well-being are deeply interconnected within households. This is a bold step forward in our mission to deliver not just meals but hope and health to our community.”
New Health Center in Portland
This is not the only good news for Adventist Health Portland lately, regional Adventist health leaders shared. On March 1, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch its new federally qualified health center on the southeast Portland campus of Adventist Health Portland. The center will begin seeing patients later this month.
“Thank you to OHSU for a beautiful partnership that helps us stay really focused on patients, especially the patients on the east side of Portland and also patients throughout the state,” King said.
“This is so welcome in our community,” Metro councilor Duncan Hwang said during the event.
Multnomah County commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards echoed that sentiment. “This is a huge community asset for us,” she said. “A healthy community is a thriving community.”
Like its sister facility, the Richmond Clinic, the new health center will welcome and treat all southeast Portland residents, regardless of their ability to pay, insurance status, income, background, and preferred language. The new health center will offer primary care, behavioral health, newborn screenings, addiction care, laboratory services, pharmacy, and more.
The original version of this story was posted on the Adventist Health news site.
