COVID19 and Meal Service in Health Care
RC Show 2020!
February 11, 2020
Important Policy Change
July 25, 2022
Guest Author - Suzanne Quiring, CDM, RD
Suzanne has 25+ years experience in Residential Care Food Services and has walked along side 800+ communities with fellow Food Managers & Dietitians on how it can be improved. She has a ton of resources to help Communities improve their dining experience and she would love to share her passion and knowledge with you. Click here to email Suzanne directly.
How are you feeling these days during this COVID-19 global crisis? Personally, I have been in dis-belief, and feelings of being scared, uneasy, and overwhelmed in the last few weeks on many levels. So much has changed...
Speaking to many of my Dietitian & Food Manager friends, I know we are all feeling this way. Providing safe food service to residents and keeping our staff safe in our vulnerable health care settings is a huge challenge. But it is times like this, that I rely on my professional training & associations to provide solid guidance & evidence-based Best Practices, so we can continue to be the strong leaders we are.
There was an excellent webinar provided for Dietetics in Health Care Community members (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics group) on March 19 to help titled "Front & back of the House Precautions". Full credit provided to the speaker Anna de Jesus, MBA, RD and expert panel, whom did a wonderful job, and the DHCC professional association for hosting the webinar.
Highlight notes for me were:
- hand washing is the #1 was to eliminate this virus
- alcohol-based hand sanitizer when hand washing can't be done
- great surface cleaning practices is definitely key (clean, sanitize, and disinfect)
- strengthen our current practices that we have been trained on re cleaning, food safety
- no self-serve food service, but trained FS staff serving is best practice
- reduce visitors, volunteers and non-essential staff into building
- residents that are high risk of choking to dine together but 6" apart, not face each other
- disposable dishes are NOT needed - dish machine will sanitize dishes
- understand the importance of food and choice for residents more than ever
- higher risk of isolation, dehydration and weight loss with folks in their room
I made some personal notes from the webinar, that you are welcome to view and share with your team (idea: print and put in your staff communication book); Suzanne's personal COVID19 webinar notes.
Also to know, COVID-19 is not air-borne,so wearing masks is not necessary unless providing direct care to residents. Hope this provides some wisdom and comfort to you while you are leading your food service team - keep encouraged!
Going Mobile with the SuzyQ Cart System
An effective system ideal for hallway meal delivery.
A memo from CMS (USA) on March 13/20 recommended guidance that care facilities "cancel communal dining and all group activities”.
So how do you do this if you have only ever been set up with dining room service, and don't have the equipment? A good question that many folks are asking...
Going "mobile" down the hallways with food choices has been working for 20+ years with the SuzyQ carts.
How it's Done
Load up the SuzyQ cart with food choices from the kitchen. Cover the food for transport outside of rooms. Uncover and start active service. Trained staff only serve from the SuzyQ carts (or beverage cart, snack cart, etc) and verbally provide menu choices to residents and serve according. Use flip lids or dome covers if desired, serving tongs. During COVID-19, keep a bottle of hand sanitizer on cart for easy access.
Often a secondary cart holding beverage choices, cutlery, dessert follows behind the SuzyQ. As a TEAM, meal service can be provided to residents where ever they are (i.e. hallway service, dining rooms, small neighborhoods, etc). Dishes are collected on a bus cart or rack system afterwards and returned to the kitchen for sanitation.
Food stays hot, residents still feel they have a voice, less isolation and risk of depression, and honoring person centered choices that they will eat (less risk of malnutrition and dehydration) while folks are confined to their room. And once communal dining is happening again, you can use the SuzyQ's in the dining room so the investment in the equipment is long term (easily 15+ years).
Tray service is not the only answer on how to provide hot meals to residents in a home setting when residents are now isolated to their rooms.
If you want to read a story about how one care community did this and actually won the Tenn State award of Innovation, click here: Buffet dining at your door story
For more information on SuzyQ carts and how they can help your business click here or contact the RH Customer Service Team at 844.656.0303 or fill out the form below.