COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM BELKANP-MERRIMACK COUNTIES INC.

ELDER SERVICES

ROTATION SUMMARY

ROTATION: Community
HOURS: Approximately 80 hours over the course of 6-8 weeks will be comprised of conducting a needs
assessment, any communication or meetings regarding the rotation, formulating and presenting
presentations, conducting train-the-trainer sessions, completing nutrient analysis, synthesizing a
newsletter, and your specialty project. Hours commuting are not included.

SITE: Various Elder Services sites of Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Counties Inc. (CAP)
Belmont Senior Center- Belmont, NH
Horseshoe Pond Place- Concord, NH
Mountain View Senior Center- Bradford, NH
Tilton Senior Center- Tilton, NH
TRIP Senior Center- Franklin, NH

SITE CONTACT
Primary Contact:
Pam Jolivette- CAP Elder Services Program Director, pjolivette@bm-cap.org

Secondary Contacts:
Karen Heyes- Food Services Director, kseibel@bm-cap.org
Joan Barretto- Assistant Director, jbarretto@bm-cap.org

Site Managers:
Belknap
o Belmont Senior Center- Beverly Murdough (206) 267-9867
o Tilton Senior Center Cindy Clarenbach cclarenbach@bm-cap.org
Merrimack
o Mountain View Senior Center Phil Stockwell pstockwell@bm-cap.org
o Horseshoe Pond Place Richard Penny rpenny@bm-cap.org
o TRIP Nancy Marceau nmarceautrip@gmail.com

BRIEF SITE DESCRIPTION

Location
Elder Services (ES) is a department under CAP which coordinates a collection of multi-purpose
community sites throughout the Belknap and Merrimack counties of New Hampshire. Their eight sites
extend east of Keene, reaching as far north as Alton and as far south as Concord. The main office and
central kitchen is located in Concord, NH at 2 Industrial Park Drive Concord, NH 03302. All nine sites offer
congregate lunches, only a select few offer home-delivered meals. The location interns will be working
with will vary. Locations available for intern placement will be decided by the CAP program director on a
rotating basis. Interns will not be traveling to Alton and Laconia sites due to their distance from Keene.
Services
Elder Services offer numerous health and wellness, nutrition and socialization, health maintenance,
educational, arts and humanities, volunteer, recreation, and transportation services. They host various
sessions and events in lifelong learning, recreation, arts, and humanities. More details can be found on
their website.

o Nutrition, Health, and Wellness: Home delivered meals (Meals on Wheels) congregate
community dining, cooking classes, nutrition seminars, picnics and holiday events are the usual
activities amongst the sites. Not all sites have offer each of these services.

History of Involvement
Keene State College Dietetic Internship began their involvement with Elder Services in 2017 as an
Independent Community Project for a 2016-17 dietetic intern. Her work with them included developing
this rotation, writing a grant proposal for a part time RDN position, and compiling a literature review to
describe the significance of dietitians in nutrition-based programs at senior centers. This project
originated out of the needs expressed by Elder Services. Interns will be conducting work that falls within
their scope of practice and as needed by the Elder Services staff.

ROLE OF RD OR DI IN PUBLIC HEALTH AND COMMUNITY NUTRITION ROTATIONS

Dietitians play important roles in community sites. Using the Nutrition Care Process, they can assess the
health of their clients at a community level and identify gaps in their nutrition status and knowledge.
Using a high level of awareness to various community resources and programs, they can select adequate
interventions to meet the clients needs and connect them to adequate services. They are qualified to
conduct personalized on-on-one nutrition counseling and in-home nutrition assessments. Community
RDNs serve both individuals and groups. N.E.S. does not have a dietitian on staff at this time.

Under the supervision of dietetic internship staff, who are Registered Dietitians, and ES staff, the dietetic
intern can provide nutrition education and perform public health activities as defined by the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics: Standards of Practice Standards of Professional Performance for Registered
Dietitian Nutritionists in Public Health and Community Nutrition. Examples include the following:
Write grant proposals
Help plan and evaluate public health and community nutrition programs
Conduct research and generate policy
Provide Kitchen Coordinators with nutrition expertise in diet modification and nutrient analysis
Administer nutrition education training to groups and individuals
Advocate for changes in regulations related to nutrition at a state level
Conduct community needs assessments and help to coordinate nutrition interventions
Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and community professionals
Identify referrals and resources as needed

INTERN ROLE AT SITE

After completing assigned readings, two interns will begin their rotation together with a two-day
orientation facilitated by the program director. This includes one morning in the Concord kitchen and an
afternoon on a MOW delivery route. The second afternoon will be spent at an assigned senior center
becoming oriented to the population and system needs. They will coordinate their schedules with the
internship staff and ES program director to confirm dates for the various activities below. This should be
done the first week of the rotation as it must be published on the calendar and newsletter in advanced
notice. Interns will complete a presentation together and deliver it as two sites. Locations will be set by
the program director based on need. The Team Leader will be assigned by the internship director.
Presentations will be delivered by one intern at one site. Interns will conduct one month of nutrient
analysis with the guidance of the food service director. Newsletters for senior centers should a brief
summary of the nutrition presentation topic. Various specialty projects will consume the remaining
hours. Use the Community Senior Center Task List throughout the rotation to track activities.

ACTIVITY OVERVIEW
Assigned Readings
Lanier T. The growing demand of nutrition services and nutrition professionals for low-income,
community-dwelling, older adults. Print 2017.
Center for Medicare Education. How seniors learn. Issue Brief 2003;4(9):1-8.
www.medicareed.org
Fox-Grage, W. Ujvari, K. AARP Public Policy Institute. The Older Americans Act. Insight on the
Issues. 2014;92:1-7.
Sahyoun, N.R., Pratt C.H., Anderson, A. Evaluation of nutrition education interventions for older
adults: a proposed framework. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004;104:58-69.
Senior Center Site Newsletter and any additional Elder Services material

Nutrition Presentations
There are three different approaches interns can select from to complete this project: nutrition sessions,
cooking demos, or cooking classes. The expectation is that all lessons, regardless of style incorporate
current research and employ evidence-based educational methods for a senior population.
Presentations should be hands-on, discussion based, and will not use Power Point. A topic* from the list
below will be coordinated between the intern and the program director. Other topics the director finds
useful may also be assigned.
Sessions (45 min): An engaging nutrition education presentation, evaluated using the
Presentation Evaluation form. This may or may not include sampling or a food demo.
Demos (45 min): An upbeat presentation using the preparation of meals as the main teaching
method for the topic.
Classes (75 min): A hands-on approach to delivering topic content. This uses participants at the
site. Classes should be very simple, use limited equipment, and offer enough food for a sample
size amount. A mini nutrition session should accompany this in the beginning and ample time for
questions and reflection should be included at the end.

Newsletters
Depending on timing of rotation, interns can write a newsletter piece before or after their
nutrition presentation. This is done off site. Submission topics, drafts, and final versions should
be sent to the Program Director.
Before a Presentation: In 100 words or less write a brief summary of what topic(s) will be
covered in the nutrition presentation(s). Submit to program director after selecting presentation
topic within the first week of the rotation.
 After a Presentation: In 100 words or less write a summary of how the congregate lunches and
your nutrition education session have contributed to the communitys health (ie how is this meal
meeting the needs of the people.) Include what they have learned with you, and any other
additional educational components relevant to the topic. Feel free to add in quotes from
members and resources for individuals to further their learning in and outside of the center. This
must be submitted 50 days before publication date.

Specialty Projects
The specialty project should be approved by both the Dietetic Internship Director as well as the ES
program director. Special projects may include but are not limited to the following:
Additional nutrition education presentations
Professional written documents to state officials*
Research on the work of other national senior centers
Working with site managers on grant efforts or projects
Conducting pre-service nutrition trainings for the Senior Companion Program on screening for
high nutrition risk and healthy senior nutrition
Other mutually agreed upon assignment or project requested by the ES program director.

* Written documents: Approaches vary based on the current political climate of the time.
o Write a persuasive or informative letter to NH state officials regarding how the congregate
meal program has helped seniors. For example:
A request for the support or rejection of various bills or acts that impact the health and
wellness of seniors or the existence of senior services
A request for continued funding or support for various senior services, a letter of
gratitude for support of programs
An invitation to attend a special event hosted at the senior center for which you will be
present and actively involved in.
o Research how the current funding source is allowing NH elder services to operate.
For example: If funding is being threatened, write a persuasive letter urging officials to
continue to fund the program.
o Include the importance of the organization, how is has helped the community, and what
continued support for this program could do for the community or how its absence would
impact their constituents.
Perhaps it includes an invitation of state officials to a luncheon or MOW route. Facilitate
this event, help with meal service, and include seniors who are will to share their
stories. Such policy-based projects must be approved and reviewed by the internship
director.
o Thank them and encourage them to support, or continue to support policies that strengthen
community programs such as MOW and congregate meals.

ROTATION DESCRIPTION
Activities Approximate Competencies
Hours
Needs Assessment (site orientation,
shadowing, food service, assigned
readings)
Nutrient Analysis (1 mo. of recipes/
intern)
Nutrition Presentations- A Session,
Cooking Demo, or Cooking Class (At
least one presentation/ intern)
Newsletter
Specialty Projects (Additional
Presentations, Letter to State
Official, Pre-service Nutrition
Sessions, Other projects requested
and agreed upon)
EVALUATION PAPERWORK
COP(s)
Presentation Evaluation Form(s)
Senior Center Task List
Teamwork Evaluation
Team Leader Report
PDE from intern and preceptor
Site Summary
Any materials worked on or created during rotation
*Upload COP, presentation materials to site book.
10 CRD 3.1a Assess the nutrition status of groups in
a variety of settings where nutrition
education can be delivered.
10 CRD 4.5 Use informatics technology to develop
store, retrieve and communicate
information and data.
20-30 CRD 2.8 Apply leadership skills to achieve
desired outcomes
Develop and deliver programs that
CRD 3.3
promote consumer health, wellness,
and lifestyle management
Implement and evaluate presentations
to a target audience
Define and demonstrate wellness
CRD 2.3 concepts and messages in community
settings.
CNEW 1 Promote the use of whole foods in
nutrition education programs while
meeting consumer acceptance for taste,
CNEW 5 nutrition guidelines, food safety, ease of
preparation, and cost
4 CRD 2.2 Demonstrate professional writing skills
in preparing professional
communications
Varies CRD 2.9 Participate in professional and
community organizations
Establish collaborative relationships
CRD 2.10
with other professionals to deliver
effective nutrition services.
Demonstrate professional attributes
CRD 2.11 within various organizational cultures.
Nutrition Presentation Topics
Topics are in order from most to least desired as voted by the members of the senior centers.
1. Cooking for one/two (simple recipes using common pantry items in addition to something
new)
2. No salt flavoring options
3. Food and blood sugar control
4. Low sugar desserts
5. Healthier convenient foods (frozen, boxed, and canned meals)
6. Foods to keep me regular
7. Easy nutritious breakfasts
8. Power up with protein
9. Supplement bars and meal replacement shakes
10. Understanding vitamin K and leafy greens
11. Storing food properly
12. How to pick out ripe fruits & vegetables
Other possible topics include: foods for managing blood cholesterol, balancing DM and HD, cooking for
company, cooking with unfamiliar vegetables, proteins for vegans, reducing belly bloat, food and
supplements for arthritis, low fat meals, meals patterns and healthy habits for weight loss strategies,
probiotics, high potassium foods, do certain foods really help manage UTIs?, carbs 101, sugar 101, food
safety for picnics, different cooking techniques, vegetables as main meals, what is a healthy food?

Presentations should be very light in content and focus on 1 to two points. Topics above are broad and
can be used multiple times from different angles. Ex: No salt flavoring options- lesson on using various
vinegars in two ways- dressings and marinade. OR lesson on using 5 common herbs.