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Healthy food, social engagement anchor Sharon Hospital’s comprehensive aging approach

Healthy food, social engagement anchor Sharon Hospital’s comprehensive aging approach

Jane Kellner and Martha McAndrews talk at a Senior Dinner put on by Sharon Hospital on Dec. 3 at the White Hart Inn in Salisbury. They were two of an estimated 100 guests.

L. Tomaino

SALISBURY — An estimated 100 people gathered at the White Hart Inn in Salisbury for a celebratory capstone dinner for Sharon Hospital’s Senior Meal Program on Dec. 3.

Sharon Hospital’s president, Christina McCulloch, addressed attendees. “Tonight, we celebrate connections, gratitude and looking ahead.”

She added that Sharon Hospital is “investing in a comprehensive approach to aging,” and said the meals are part of that, offering “not only a healthy meal, but socialization.”

Dr. Jonathan Joseph added, “activity, exercise, and socializing are key to health when aging.”

The Senior Meal Program offered residents 65 and older a full lunch that included a salad or small soup, a main course with a vegetable and starch, dessert, and coffee or tea — all for $5. Meals were served in the Sharon Hospital café from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Interspersed throughout the year were suppers with themes such as “The Sweetheart Supper” in February, which included a lecture on heart health and an opportunity to meet Sharon’s new cardiologist, Sheri Harrison.

Rosemary Farnsworth, from Salisbury, remembered the Sweetheart Supper, “A lovely event, very nice.”

The discounted meals were made possible through a grant from the Northwest CT Community Foundation, the Northwest Corner Gives Fund. Donations from the community were matched by this grant.

The Dec. 3 dinner was the final senior dinner given the existing grant guidelines. Senior meals will be paused at the hospital café until the Sharon Hospital Foundation is able to secure ongoing support for the program.

Donations can be made by contacting Laura Eldridge at the Foundation, 203-739-7056 or laura.eldridge@nuvancehealth.org

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