By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Angie Bradford sensed there was something wrong when she tried to deliver a meal to a senior citizen in Troy Township and found the door locked.
Bradford, director of food services for the Wood County Committee on Aging, was subbing on a Meals on Wheels route in the northeastern part of the county on Feb. 3, when she came to the home of the 77-year-old woman.
Having delivered meals to the home a couple times before, Bradford was surprised that the door was locked this time. She knocked and called for the woman inside, then heard stumbling in the house.
“I heard her moving around, but it sounded like she was having a difficult time,” Bradford said.
Then she heard the woman say, “I can’t get my legs to work,” Bradford said.
Eventually, the woman made it to the door.
“As soon as she opened the door, I could smell the gas,” Bradford said.
Bradford went inside and saw that a burner on the gas stove was on, but was not lit. She immediately opened windows in the manufactured home and called 911.
The woman told Bradford that she had been sleeping on the couch and wondered why she couldn’t get up. She surmised that when she reached for something in a cupboard over the stove, she inadvertently turned on the burner.
After the incident, Bradford got a thank you letter along with a check for $77 from the woman.
“She is 77 years old, and is thankful to continue to live on another day, and hopefully more years to come,” a friend of the woman wrote in the letter, explaining the $77 donation.
Meals on Wheels staff don’t accept donations, so Bradford passed it onto the Wood County Committee on Aging.
“I was just doing my job,” she said.
“I called her yesterday to thank you,” and to remind the woman to get a carbon monoxide detector, Bradford said.
Wood County Committee on Aging Executive Director Denise Niese said this incident emphasizes the value of Meals on Wheels – far beyond the meals themselves.
“That’s why daily home meals are so important,” Niese said. The staff delivering meals make sure they have visible or audible contact with the client when they drop off the food.
“Kudos to Angie,” Niese said.
Eric Myers, president of the Wood County Committee on Aging Board, said the result shows how “good policies and good staff work.”
If not for the home visit, the board could have been reading the woman’s obituary, instead of her thank you letter, one board member said.
Many senior agencies have trimmed back their meal deliveries to once a week during the pandemic, Niese said. That just wasn’t enough for the Wood County Senior Center, she added.
“It’s essential,” she said. “Our board has committed to do this as long as we can. It’s more than a meal. It may be the only face someone sees on a given day.”
“It’s absolutely one of the most important services we offer – just that few minutes with someone delivering a meal” said Jason Miller, human resources manager for the WCCOA.
Especially during the pandemic, many seniors are very isolated for their own safety. So staff delivering meals can check for essentials, like whether or not the furnace is working or the walks are shoveled.
“That’s the importance of the daily visits,” Niese said.
