Nursing unit meal management maintenance program. Continuation of safe-swallowing and feeding beyond skilled therapeutic intervention.
Feeding, deglutition, and swallowing are the most natural means of alimentation. These means provide nutrition and hydration to the body. Management of dysphagia has become a widespread clinical practice in acute care, rehabilitation, and long-term skilled nursing facilities from rehabilitation and nursing perspectives. Caring for chronic dysphagic and feeding-impaired patients on nursing units is a central concern of this article. The purpose of this descriptive article is to report on a practical meal supervision program that may be used on nursing units to facilitate the continuum of dysphagia care after skilled therapeutic intervention. This program stresses the importance of: (a) identifying patient help level and corresponding nursing care; (b) centralized, supervised dining; (c) organized seating assignments; and (d) an effective, integrated communication system. This article addresses staff training and continuous quality improvement monitoring, and discusses potential investigations concerning compliance.
Miceli
B V
BV
Titusville Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Florida 32796, USA.
D000368:Aged; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing*; D005521:Food Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009737:Nursing Records; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012307:Risk Factors