Please keep for your files
Co
mmunity Servings – 179 Amory Street- Jamaica Plain, MA 02130- Tel. 617-522-7777 - Fax 617-522-7770 Revised: January 2020
Client Guidelines
Clie
nt Responsibilities, Rights and Grievance Procedure
What is Community Servings?
Community Servings’ mis
sion is to provide free home-based nutritional support to persons living with life
threatening illness, without regard for race, religion, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation. We are dedicated
to providing these services with care and compassion, in such a way as to promote dignity and self-sufficiency.
Eligibility for services is based on a certification form, which establishes the client’s acute life-threatening illness and
assesses a client’s need according to health and mobility implications.
What are my responsibilities as a client?
To assure efficient, high quality service, delivery clients are responsible for the following:
Paperwork: Complete all necessary paperwork as requested in order to receive meals.
Contact Information: Notify Client Services of any address or telephone number changes.
Delivery Schedule: Deliveries are made once a week on a prescribed day. Exact delivery times may vary but
someone must be home on the day of your delivery to receive your meals.
Delivery hours are: Monday –
Friday between 9:00am-6:00pm and Saturday 9:00 am-2:00 pm (unless other
delivery arrangements were made). If you have not received your meals by 5pm, please leave a message with
Client Services at 617-522-7777
Recertification: Once a year, or as needed, you will be asked to resubmit all paperwork and have your health
care provider fax in a yearly certification form which states a client’s medical and mobility status. Updates to some
paperwork is required on a six month basis.
Cancellation: Clients must call our Client Services department 24 hours in advance and no later than 8:00 am
on the day of delivery to cancel meals. If you will be unavailable for an extended period of time (such as a
va
cation or hospitalization) you may put your meals on hold and call Client Services to resume deliveries.
What are my rights as a client?
Community Servings shall honor the rights of each person receiving services. You have the right:
To be
treated with dignity and respect.
To be informed of policies and procedures concerning clients.
To have every reasonable effort made to accommodate special dietary needs and restrictions.
To confidentiality and to have that right protected by staff, volunteers and all others associated with the
agency.
To be informed of the Grievance Procedure.
To provide input, suggest changes, offer criticisms and comments.
To receive interpreter services at no cost.
What is the Grievance Procedure?
If a client believes that they have been treated unfairly by Community Servings:
C
lient should seek to resolve any disagreement or dispute with the person involved, whether volunteer,
staff, or others associated with the agency.
If this does not resolve the situation within 3 business days, the client should ask to speak with the Client
Services Manager. The Client Services Manager will make all attempts to resolve the situation and inform
the client of the results.
If the above fails, the client may call the Director of Programs. The Director of Programs will gather and
analyze all facts and both parties will be interviewed. The client will be informed of the results.
Community Servings may refer the client to a third-party mediator for negotiation, if needed.