Vancouver long term care centre improves food quality after family speaks out

After a story broke in early July about rotten bananas and near-empty plates being served to residents at George Pearson Centre, the kitchen team reached out to the family who raised concerns. Miranda Fatur reports on what changes are being made.

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Speaking out is not an easy choice to make, especially for vulnerable people in care, but a George Pearson Centre (GPC) resident’s voice has made all the difference at one Vancouver facility.

Just one day after NEWS 1130 broke a story about rotten bananas and near-empty plates being served to residents at the long term care centre, the kitchen team reached out to make amends.

Leigh Eliason’s father, Bill Salhany, has been living at GPC for about two years and shared pictures of sub-par meals with the media about a month ago, sparking calls for change.

“They were 100 per cent in agreement that the food my dad had taken pictures of was completely unacceptable and that they do not stand behind that at all. They talked at length with my mom about some of the things we’ve witnessed and she promised change,” says Eliason.

https://www.facebook.com/leigh.eliason/posts/10163927001400453

“They’ve been working, trying to find ways to implement different changes, things to improve: the quality of food, the presentation of the food, the taste of the food, so we’re heading in the right direction,” she says.

Sodexo, the company contracted to provide food at GPC, even offered to prepare a family meal of Salhany’s choice for the everyone at the care home. He chose one of his favourite meals to make at home, chicken cacciatore.

“They made and they served it and it came back with rave reviews. They said hardly any pates came back empty and they brought the leftovers to another care home nearby and they loved it,” she says.

“It was just amazing to hear of such positive change that, no doubt, put a smile on people’s faces.” Eliason says things aren’t perfect, there’s a long way to go and she hopes that kind of personalized meal planning can continue.

She says COVID-19 restrictions have kept families from delivering meals and kept residents from journeying out of their homes on day passes, where they could also find additional food.

“Food is tied to so many things. It’s not just simple nourishment because, really, when it comes down to it, food can be served and meet nutritional requirements but that doesn’t mean that it’s appetizing, right? You could stuff anything in a blender, grind it up and it meets nutritional requirements, but it doesn’t nourish you in other ways, it doesn’t nourish you emotionally.”

Politicians take note of GPC

Eliason and her family are not alone in worrying about loved ones in long term care. She’s joined others to form the Long-Term Care Advocates & Support Group to advocate for change in the province.

“We really would like to make changes in other aspects of long term care as well,” she says.

“COVID has really brought to the forefront some of the things that are lacking in long term care and some of the things that families have been stepping up to do in light of the fact that there’s short staffing or not enough people to carry the load,” she explains.

Eliason says she’s sincerely grateful for Vancouver-Langara MLA Michael Lee who met with the family and raised the concerns about food, as well as other concerns covered by the media, in the legislature, last week.

“He’s been so wonderful for us. He’s been so encouraging, he’s listened with compassion, he’s listened with empathy, he has really, really, really, shown us that he is committed and willing to work towards the changes that are very much needed,” says Eliason.

She’s also looking forward to a meeting with Health Minister Adrian Dix in the coming weeks.

“We’re just working on the finishing touches of what we’re going to be presenting to him in the future,” says Eliason.

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