Healthier Dining Offered in Senior Living Communities

21/08/07 Sunrise Senior Living, Inc., one of the largest providers of senior-living services, has introduced two new dining program enhancements, which benefit the health of its more than 40,000 residents. A first in the senior-living industry, Sunrise recently began using zero trans fat oils in its more than 400 U.S. communities. In addition, the company is proud to now offer its residents a pasteurized whole-shell egg product.

"As part of our commitment to champion quality of life for all seniors, Sunrise recognizes the importance in offering diverse, healthy and appealing meals to our residents," said Daniel Schwartz, senior vice president of North American Operations for Sunrise. "Working with the freshest ingredients every day to provide well-balanced and delicious menu items is one of our Sunrise signatures and we are proud to enhance our already comprehensive dining services with these new products."

According to the American Heart Association, which recommends that you limit the amount of trans fats to less than 1 percent of your total daily calories, trans fats raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, lower your HDL (good) cholesterol levels, as well as increase your risk of developing heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Sunrise has selected Sysco's Fry-On ZTF brand zero trans fat oil as its standard cooking oil and made zero trans fat margarine products available in most communities.

"In our discussions with residents, they often ask us to offer more egg options, such as those prepared poached or sunny side up," continued Schwartz. "We are pleased to honor this request and provide residents with even more choice -- one of the hallmarks of Sunrise's leading senior living services."

As reported by National Pasteurized Eggs, Inc., adults over the age of 50 are highly susceptible to egg-related illnesses, such as salmonella infection. Sunrise is now offering a new product, Davidson's Safest Choice Pasteurized Shell Eggs, to enable their communities to more safely serve residents a runny yolk because a patented process has eliminated bacteria and viruses both inside and outside the shell. This egg product has been rolled out to all Sunrise communities.

Sunrise Senior Living is one of the nation's largest provider of senior- living services. The McLean, Va.-based company, employs approximately 40,000 people. As of June 30, 2007, Sunrise operated 453 communities in the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, with a combined capacity for more than 53,000 residents. At quarter end, Sunrise also had 38 communities under construction in these countries with a combined capacity for more than 6,000 additional residents. Sunrise offers a full range of personalized senior living services, including independent living, assisted living, care for individuals with Alzheimer's and other forms of memory loss, as well as nursing, rehabilitative and hospice care. Sunrise's senior living services are delivered by staff trained to encourage the independence, preserve the dignity, enable freedom of choice and protect the privacy of residents.