Aged Care Nutrition Services

Nutrition Professionals Australia consults to a large number of Aged Care Facilities throughout South Australia, including regional areas. We are able to provide specific care for an individual resident or a range of services depending on the needs of the facility. We are committed to providing expert dietetic services in a professional and efficient manner.

Click on a heading below for more information about that particular service.

One of our Accredited Practising Dietitians will visit your facility to:

• Review client nutrition issues and requirements
• Review PEG feeds
• Develop nutrition care plans
• Liaise with medical, nursing and food services staff to ensure optimal care
• Provide written dietary guidelines

Download our referral form and fax to 08 8227 1200 and our admin team will be in touch to make an appointment time.

Does your aged care facility have difficulty in accessing dietitian services? Accreditation standards require residents in aged care to be reviewed by a dietitian but a suitably qualified and experienced dietitian is not always available, especially in rural areas. We can help!

Call us to make an appointment with one of our experienced Accredited Practising Dietitians. We will:   

• Send you a list of information we need about the resident   
• Review all information provided
• Speak to you via Skype^TM
• Discuss relevant issues relating to the nutrition care of the resident
• Speak to the resident via Skype^TM too if appropriate
• Provide a written report that can be entered into the medical record
• Provide a written meal plan for the car plan and the kitchen

Skype^TM is a great way to save on travel costs and to keep in regular touch with a dietitian about your residents. All you need is a computer and a webcam or a laptop with the webcam built in. Its easy!

Aged care menus must be reviewed regularly to ensure that they meet aged care accreditation Standards.

A review of the menu is far more than simply looking at the menu structure itself. The menu on paper does not always reflect what is actually served to residents and does not necessarily ensure that residents receive an adequate diet.

Our menu reviews or nutrition audits aim to identify the links between food service and nutrition care of residents. We aim to identify gps in provision of nutrition care and strageties for quality improvement.

Nutrition Professionals Australia provides a comprehensive menu and food service audit that includes:

• A visit to your facility to meet with key catering, nursing and care staff
• Audits of serve sizes
• Review of documentation
• Review of nutrition and special diet policy and procedures
• Identification of processes to identify malnutrition and provide nutrition support
• Quantitative assessment of nutrition provided to residents
• Identification of how food service integrates into nutrition care
• Comprehensive report with recommendations to meet Accreditation guidelines

We can offer:

• Review of menu and core food groups only
• Premium review of menu and nutrition care processes
• Nutrition analysis of recipes or the entire menu
• Desktop reviews using electronic communications

For more information call 08 8227 1000 or email us via the contact us form.

Does your aged care facility have difficulty in accessing dietitian services? Accreditation standards require that menus are regularly reviewed by a dietitian but a suitably qualified and experienced dietitian is not always available, especially in rural areas. We can help!

Nutrition Professionals Australia have developed a cost effective method of ensuring that your menu is meeting the needs of your residents. We will:  

• Send you a questionnaire about your menu and food service
• Ask you to weigh meals and provide some of your documentation about nutrition care
• Schedule an interview via SkypeTM or teleconference
• Provide a detailed report and recommendations for quality improvements

For more information call 08 8227 1000 or email us via the contact us form.

Nutrition Professionals Australia can also provide regular site visits to monitor and facilitate a range of food and nutrition services including those outlined above as well as:

• Development and implementation of a nutrition screening tool to identify residents at risk of malnutrition
• Flowchart for nutrition supplementation and monitoring of residents nutrition status
• Attendance at catering meetings
• Recipe analysis and review
• Special diets guidelines
• Review of texture modified diets and thickened fluids
• Review of diabetes management
• Advice regarding most appropriate and cost effective supplements
• Troubleshooting

Monthly visits to the care home are recommended, but other time frames can be negotiated.

For more information or to arrange visits to your home call 08 8227 1000 or email us via the contact us form.

We can provide seminars and workshops in your facility- we can tailor sessions to suit the needs of your organisation.

We run 2-Day Improving Nutrition in Aged Care Seminars in every state each year.
 

Our popular 2 day seminar equips participants with the necessary tools to provide quality nutrition care in their facility. They will be given the opportunity to clarify contemporary nutrition issues in a practical way over the two day workshop. It will assist your facility to achieve best practice in nutrition and special diets and to meet accreditation requirements.

Have you attended NPA's Improving Nutrition in Aged Care Seminar?

We are now offering the seminars as a series of online e-learning presentations.

You can view the presentations directly from our website. The presentations inlude quizzes, practical information and resources that will assist you to meet Best Practice and Accreditation Guidelines.

NPA has developed a series of one day meal plans that provide a summary outline for each of the various special diets that are likely to be encountered in aged care.

Many of these special diets eg diabetic and texture modified are routinely provided from the main menu, but others will need to be catered for on an individual basis.

The meal plans provide a simple and practical guide that can be readily referred to at the time of serving meals.

Also included in this manual is information regarding standard serve sizes and a standard menu structure to ensure that residents are provided with ample opportunities to choose foods from each of the core food groups and to ensure that the facility meets best practice and accreditation guidelines.

Nutrition Professionals Australia produces a regular newsletter that outlines current issues in nutrition for aged care residents.

Please SIGN UP if you would like to receive our aged care newsletter.