title: Nursing unit meal management maintenance program. Continuation of safe-swallowing and feeding beyond skilled therapeutic intervention.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Titusville Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Florida 32796, USA.
authors.forename: B V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Miceli
mesh_terms: 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