Quote:
Originally Posted by First Lady
I've been on a sodium reduced diet for 3 years now. There are lots of "no salt" spices to enhance food. I'm not married to a chef, but he got pretty darn creative in the kitchen when we had to eliminate sodium.... 
And fresh veggies don't need anything if they are indeed "fresh". |
Sure, there are plenty of low-salt spices out there (but how many can be reconciled with a medically approved diet? I don't know), and maybe the union cooks could put more effort into their cooking en masse if they are so aghast with the outcomes, but you're still not making the point of a lack of nutrition and thats the real concern. If that can be proven, then there's a serious problem that needs to be immediately addressed. So far, no one has proven that.
Should the seniors in public long term care have first rate food? Ideally, absolutely. Just like students should have free tuition, there should be no school fees, all low income earners should have cheap transit passes like seniors, everyone should have free dentistry and eye care, and classrooms should only have 15 students per teacher.
Reality is, there simply isn't enough money for any of that. While the PCs have not been stellar accountants, there are just too many economic and social issues to overcome and even the WRA can't do any better so long as they have to deal with the AUPE, not cannibalize a different government program or keep from raising taxes. I don't think there is the will or political charisma to bring in European style healthcare, and with that, there's still no guarantee of improved delivery of food services.
This is where family and friends should be more pro-active, rather than the case I hear of from RNs I know, where a family dumps Grandma into a home, see her once a month, and gripe that the nurse only came by once during their visit and the food sucks. Speaking from a lot of experience and second hand knowledge, it is incumbent upon families and friends to augment the experience of the elderly in these facilities, and not sit back and expect someone else to do it for free. Long term health and wellness outcomes are simply much better when the families are involved.
I personally find the AUPE's complaints to be dubious and disingenuous, since they are both the cooks and a major cost driver in service delivery. For example, a 0.4 shift (18hr/wk) is considered full time with benefits for nurses.