BY DAVE WEIMAN

Eating. We do this every day – repeatedly. It is important for obvious reasons. But for residents in skilled nursing homes, it should also be a significant event. Why? Because it needs to be more than the mere “intake of fuel.” It is an opportunity to improve the quality of life by dining with friends.

Linda Bump is a dietitian and licensed nursing home administrator and has written extensively about dining options in nursing homes. A passage from her book Life Happens in the Kitchen illustrates the importance of food and dining:

“When we enhance the dining experience of our elders, we nourish their souls, as well as their bodies. As caregivers committed to maximizing the quality of life and quality of care for the elders residing in our long term care facilities, we are called to best serve our elders’ nutritional needs while best serving their psychological and psychosocial needs. When we honor our elders’ preferences in dining, we honor their past and best serve their future.” (Bump, 2004-2005)

Ms. Bump has seven specific criteria to help in measuring how well a skilled nursing home provides an effective dining experience:

1. Choice – the choice of what to eat, when to eat, where to eat, who to eat with and how leisurely to eat.
2. Accessibility – foods of choice available when hungry or when just longing for a specific food. Food available 24 hours a day seven days a week and someone available 24/7 to help prepare it.
3. Individualization – the elder’s favorite foods, comfort foods, ethnic foods, foods prepared from their own favorite recipes, foods that make them look forward to the day, foods that warm their heart and soul, as well as nourish their bodies.
4. Liberalized diets – the elder’s right to choice in following a restrictive diet.
5. Food First – choosing food before supplements and food before medication. With choice, accessibility and individualization, residents eat foods of choice throughout the day reducing, even eliminating, the need for commercial supplements.
6. Quality Service – knowing the elder, their choices, their preferences, what they ate and what they need to eat, knowing what to tempt them with, encourages optimal intake and can make the difference between joy in dining and failure to thrive.
7. Responsiveness – responsiveness is the right amount of attention – not hovering, just quiet attention to every need (Bump, 2004-2005).

Go to www.carecompasspeoria.org for more suggestions and guidance for finding quality elder care.

Dave Weiman is the founder of Care Compass, a free online site to assist elders and their families find Elder Care in the Peoria area. Dave has been engaged for over 10 years in improving the quality of care so elders can enjoy a life of quality.