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Living wills smart move, Glenn says
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National Healthcare Decisions Day is observed annually April 16 and is aimed at increasing the number of Americans who have completed a living will in which they name a person who will make medical decisions for them in the event they are seriously ill and can’t speak for themselves.
Experts say only about 20 to 30 percent of Americans have completed a living will, also called an advance directive, even though all people age 18 and older should have one.
“It is understandable people would put off discussion the topic of serious illness and death, but it's essential to have this family conversation in advance,” said Hershey Glenn RN, director of services at NHC Homecare. “It’s a discussion that should take place in the living room, not in the hospital waiting room when it may be too late.”
Aging with Dignity with the help of Oregon Health Decisions have developed a program called Five Wishes.
What is Five Wishes? Five Wishes is the first living will that talks about someone’s personal, emotional and spiritual needs as well as their medical wishes. It lets someone choose the person they want to make health care decisions for them if they are no longer able to make them for themselves.
Five Wishes allows someone to say exactly how they wish to be treated if they get seriously ill.
It was written with the help of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Law and Aging, and the nation’s leading experts in end-of-life care. It is also easy to use, the person will only need to check a box, circle a direction, or write a few sentences.
Five Wishes deals with the things people say that is important and matters to them, it allows someone to clearly say what kind of treatment they want or don’t want so their loved ones are not left to guess and second-guess.
Five wishes is recognize in 42 states, including Tennessee.
If anyone is interested in learning about Five Wishes, please contact Glenn at NHC Homecare or call 473-3872.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community