[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 159 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S6336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MALNUTRITION AWARENESS WEEK

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, September 24 to 28, 2018, marks 
Malnutrition Awareness Week. Malnutrition Awareness Week is a multi-
organizational, multipronged campaign created by the American Society 
for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition to educate healthcare 
professionals to identify and treat for malnutrition earlier, educate 
consumers and patients to discuss their nutrition status with 
healthcare professionals, and increase awareness of nutrition's role in 
patient recovery.
  Last summer, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a 
hearing to discuss the importance of proper nutrition and the impact of 
malnutrition on America's seniors. We learned that, in 2014, more than 
13 percent of seniors in Pennsylvania reported food insecurity. Experts 
shared that poverty, food insecurity, and changes with age 
significantly increase the risk of malnutrition.
  Unfortunately, we do not know the full extent to which malnutrition 
plagues seniors across the country. It is for this reason that last 
fall I called on the U.S. Government Accountability Office to examine 
what is known about the caloric and nutrient needs of older adults as 
well as the extent to which federally funded nutrition programs that 
serve older adults are meeting their nutrition needs.
  No seniors should have to choose between putting food on the table 
and taking their medications. That is why, as ranking member of the 
Aging Committee, I authored a bill, the Nourishing Our Golden Years 
Act, to improve seniors' access to the senior food box program, my bill 
assures that seniors are not kicked off the program simply because of 
red tape and difficult deadlines.
  We cannot solve malnutrition without better understanding the issue. 
Older adults, caregivers and healthcare professionals require guidance 
on the identification of and interventions for seniors facing this 
crisis. I am pleased to raise awareness about malnutrition among 
seniors as part of Malnutrition Awareness Week.

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