Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels began as a small Spokane Valley youth group project in 1975 has grown to serve over 20,000 meals each month to seniors throughout the entire 1,800 square miles of Spokane County. Unfortunately for many seniors the meal delivered is the only meal they eat that day and the volunteer who delivers it, is in many cases the only human contact the senior will have on that day.

his face-to-face delivery provides a daily wellness check on the recipient. Volunteers utilize a routing software that not only gives directions but also allows volunteers to report back real-time data on the health and status of the clients, allowing for early intervention and peace of mind for the families of those we serve.
 
For those seniors who are more mobile Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels operates dining locations known as Silver Cafes, in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Spangle, Deer Park, Airway Heights, and Rockford. Silver Cafes promote socialization through a restaurant-style dining experience and a full-service atmosphere. Each site offers games, activities, and simple conversation to help keep seniors engaged in the community and part of a vibrant social network.
 
Volunteers are the backbone of the organization. Volunteer opportunities are flexible and can accommodate most any schedule, once per week, once per month, substitute, or holiday. Volunteers can help in a wide range of roles including driving, kitchen work, Silver Café service, event support, and office help.
 
The Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels mission is funded by support of local donors and partnerships with both public and private agencies. The partnership with Aging and Long-Term Care of Eastern Washington makes it possible to provide both home delivered meals throughout the county as well as operate 12 Silver Café locations throughout Spokane County. Because of this public/private partnership, Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels is able to direct $0.91 cents of every private donor dollar to the mission and the meals as opposed to overhead.
 
One of the major annual fundraisers is Cooking for a Cause. This event offers a night of decadent food tastings, auction, music, and dancing. Food is prepared by chefs from local restaurants and senior living communities. Each guest has the opportunity to sample a wide assortment of dishes, then they vote for their favorite. The night ends with the tallying of the votes to name one champion!
 
Other donation programs include:

FOOD & FRIENDS CLUB – MONTHLY GIVING PROGRAM
By joining the Food & Friends Club, you are helping to get food and a friendly smile to seniors across Spokane County. Members receive a monthly newsletter so you can keep up to date on the impact your donation is providing for local seniors!

MEMORIAL & TRIBUTE GIVING
Donations to Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels can be made to honor loved ones, to celebrate milestones, or to remember the life of someone who has passed. Simply use the easy donation form, and enter the memorial/tribute information in the space provided.

Silver Café Locations:

​American Indian Center
1025 W. Indiana
Spokane, WA 99205
Tuesday and Thursday
Meals Served at 11:00am

Corbin Senior Center
827 W. Cleveland Ave
Spokane, WA 99205
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
Meals Served at 11:00am

Hillyard Senior Center
4001 N. Cook Street
Spokane, WA 99207
Monday thru Friday
Meals Served at 11:00am

Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center
500 S. Stone Street
Spokane, WA 99202
Monday thru Friday
Meals Served at 11:00am

SPOKANE SOUTH HILL
Clareview Senior Living
4827 S. Palouse Hwy
Spokane, WA 99202
Monday thru Friday
Meals Served at 11:00am

SPOKANE VALLEY
Appleway Court
221 S. Farr Road
Spokane Valley, WA 99206
Monday and Wednesday
Meals Served at 11:00am

Opportunity Presbyterian Church
202 N. Pines Road
Spokane Valley, WA 99206
Tuesday and Thursday
Meals Served at 11:00am

Spokane Valley Senior Center
2426 N. Discovery Road
Spokane Valley, WA 99216
Monday thru Friday
Meals Served at 11:00am

SPANGLE
Spangle Service Club
165 N. Main Street
Spangle, WA 99031
Monday and Thursday
Meals Served at 11:00am

DEER PARK
Deer Park Senior Center
St. Mary's Church
602 E. 6th Street
Deer Park, 99006
Monday and Thursday
Meals Served at 11:00am

CHENEY
United Methodist Church
204 4th Street
Cheney, WA 99004
Tuesday and Thursday
Meals Served from 11:00am

WEST PLAINS (AIRWAY HEIGHTS AND MEDICAL LAKE)
Airway Pointe Senior Apartments
13520 W. 6th Ave
Airway Heights
Wednesday and Friday
Meals Served at 11:00am

It can be overwhelming to be asked to make decisions for someone who is passing away or who is no longer able to express their wishes. It's even more difficult if they haven’t documented their wishes or discussed them with you in advance.

When it comes time to make these decisions for another there are two general standards of consideration, the Substituted Judgement Standard and the Best Interest Standard. Substituted judgment means you do the best you can to determine what the person would have done themselves if they were able to make the decision. Best Interest means you decide what is in the overall best interest of the person.

If you are making decisions for someone at end of life it may be helpful to think about the following questions:

• Have they ever talked about what they would want at the end of life?
• Have they expressed an opinion about someone else’s end-of-life treatment?
• Will treatment provide more quality time with family and friends?
• If you begin hospice will the person be denied certain treatments? 

Discussing a persons wishes in advance can help relieve a great amount of stress when the time for decision making comes. Putting your wishes in writing is even better. There are several documents you should consider preparing:
​
Advance directive 
Advance directives are legal documents that allow you to spell out your decisions about end-of-life care ahead of time. They give you a way to tell your wishes to family, friends, and health care professionals and to avoid confusion later on.
 
Living will
​A living will is a written, legal document that spells out medical treatments you would and would not want to be used to keep you alive, as well as your preferences for other medical decisions, such as pain management or organ donation.
 
POLST Form
POLST forms (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) provide guidance about your medical care preferences in the form of a doctor’s order. Typically, you create a POLST when you are near the end of life or critically ill and know the specific decisions that might need to be made on your behalf. These forms serve as a medical order in addition to your advance directive. They make it possible for you to provide guidance that healthcare professionals can act on immediately in an emergency.
 
DNR
A DNR (do not resuscitate) order tells medical staff in a hospital or nursing facility that you do not want them to try to return your heart to a normal rhythm if it stops or is beating unsustainably using CPR or other life-support measures. Even though a living will might say CPR is not wanted, it is helpful to have a DNR order as part of your medical file if you go to a hospital. Without a DNR order, medical staff will make every effort to restore your breathing and the normal rhythm of your heart.
 
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a document you can use to appoint someone to make decisions on your behalf. The appointment can be effective immediately or can become effective only if you are unable to make decisions on your own.

General Power Of Attorney
A general power of attorney lets you give someone else the authority to act on your behalf, but this power will end if you are unable to make your own decisions.

Durable Power Of Attorney
A Durable power of attorney allows you to name someone to act on your behalf for any legal task, but it stays in place if you become unable to make your own decisions.
 
Power of Attorney for Health Care
A durable power of attorney for health care is a legal document naming a healthcare proxy, someone to make medical decisions for you at times when you are unable to do so. Your proxy, also known as a representative, surrogate, or agent, should be familiar with your values and wishes so he or she will be able to decide as you would when treatment decisions need to be made.
 
Choosing a Medical Agent
Think about who you trust to tell the doctors about what is most important to you and what you would want if you become too sick to tell them yourself. You want to choose someone who will follow your medical wishes, make sure your wishes are known to medical providers and is able to make decisions in situations that may be extremely stressful.
 
What to Discuss with Your Medical Agent

• Acceptable treatments (feeding tubes, artificial nutrition, resuscitation)
• Organ donation
• At what point the focus should shift from life sustaining treatments to comfort care
• Religious beliefs that influence medical decisions
• Preference for certain physicians, health care facilities or caregivers
• What to do if your condition does not improve with treatment

This guide prepared by Lifestage can help you organize everything in one place so you and your loved ones can have peace of mind knowing there is a plan based on your needs and wishes. Apply code AssistedSpokane at checkout to download a digital copy for free.