News
To All Residents and Family Members.
Nursing Homes across the nation are taking steps to make skilled
nursing facilities more "home like" environments. Old
Jefferson is taking part in this movement wholeheartedly. Our
staff is being trained in Resident Centered Care (putting the
preferences of the resident first) and changes in our
services will accommodate this new way of thinking.
One large component of Resident Centered Care is the dining
experience. Our Registered Dietican and Clincal staff
have researched at length the effects of dietary restrictions and
feel comfortable following the recommendations of the
American Medical Directors Association , Centers for Medicaid and
Medicare, and the American Dietetic Association in liberalizing our
diets.
Our physicians that visit Old Jefferson agree with this way of
thinking and feel that the quality of life and nutritional
status of older residents in long-term care may be enhanced by
liberalization of the diet. What does liberalization of the
diet mean? Liberalization means to minimize restrictions
using the resident's preferences such as low salt, or no
concentrated sweets. Residents would eat their meals
following the menus approved by the Registered Dietician that are
consistent with the food pyramid. Our physicians are
reviewing each resident by individual case and changing diets where
it would be a health benefit and tastier option. The
physicians always consider the medical needs of the residents in
their decisions. The liberalization does not include the textures
of diets such as pureed or mechanical soft.
I have enclosed literature on liberalized diets to enable a
better understanding of the concept. If this change in physician
order is warranted for your loved one, you will be contacted by our
staff. If you have any questions, please contact my
office at 225-753-3203.