Specialized Dining
At Culinary Services Group our mission is to improve the quality of life for those we serve. We recognize that being able to dine independently can help create a more enjoyable dining experience. That’s why we’ve created specialized dining programs to serve residents with dysphagia and limited mobility.
These programs will help better serve all of your community’s residents by offering dining programs for those with dementia, limited ability to chew or swallow, or nutritional challenges. They can be a great way to distinguish your community as one that provides specialized care to residents with Alzheimer’s, Muscular Dystrophy, or those at risk of becoming malnourished.
Appeal
A Texture Modified Food Diet
Dysphagia, or difficulty chewing or swallowing, affects 50% of long term care patients. The condition often leads to increased risk of dehydration and malnutrition in older residents. It can also increase a person’s risk of food aspiration and aspiration pneumonia if dietary changes are not made. The most common dietary recommendation is a texture modified or pureed diet.
When Food Looks Good, People Want to Eat It!
Research shows that food presentation alone can boost appetites and nicely plated foods are perceived to taste better. The Appeal Program focuses on artfully shaping and presenting puréed foods as a familiar and comforting meal. With Appeal, residents recognize the foods that they are eating and want to eat it. Your community will see increased meal consumption, reduced weight loss and malnutrition, and an overall healthier population.
The Lyons Magnus Connection
Culinary Services Group has partnered with Lyons Magnus, a leader in food products for specialized care, to develop a standard of food presentation that can be replicated consistently across all our communities. With the Appeal Program staff will receive a manual that includes recipes with step by step instructions to create remarkable dishes for texture modified diets.
IDDSI Guidelines
Appeal offers meal options and opportunities to residents at all levels of the IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative) spectrum of modified eating. We can offer bite-sized foods with soft textures for those with some ability to chew. We can also offer a dignified approach to puréed diets, by molding proteins and vegetables into appealing shapes and presentations.
Empower
A Finger Foods Program
Communities serving residents with dementia are familiar with the mealtime challenges faced by those with the disease. Many residents have trouble maintaining focus, self-feeding, and even accepting food. Research shows that up to 50% of dementia patients face eating difficulties within 8 years of the diease’s onset. Under current staff ratios, one nurse is often responsible for up to 15 residents, making staff assistance at mealtimes challenging.
Restoring a Sense of Dignity
The Empower Program is designed to enable residents to self feed by offering a variety of freshly prepared finger foods. The focus of this resident-first program is to restore a sense of independence to your residents’ dining experience. It is specially designed with dementia units in mind, and can be set up as food stations throughout your unit. Your community will see prolonged independence, increased self-esteem, and reduced weight loss and malnutrition.
More than Sandwiches
We offer a variety of recipes that balance nutrition with appeal. Residents will enjoy well prepared foods like egg cups, miniature stuffed peppers, miniature loaded baked potatoes and salmon cakes. We’ve developed a standard of food presentation that can be replicated consistently across all our communities. With the Empower Program staff receive a manual that includes recipes and step by step instructions to create delicious finger foods residents will gravitate to.
Working Together
When implementing Appeal in your community, our Registered Dietitians and Chefs will prepare a customized menu especially for your facility. This menu will encompass a wide variety of items and keep your resident’s preferences in mind. Our Registered Dieticians will work closely with the community’s Speech Language Pathologist to determine if the Empower Program is an appropriate strategy for individual residents. By providing enticing finger food presentations, our goal is to nourish your community and improve the quality of life for those we serve.
Enhance
A Fortified Foods Program
Malnutrition is a common concern in many of the communities we serve. In fact, research shows that up to 50% of hospitalized older adults, and up to 60% of institutionalized older adults face malnutrition. Many Americans in senior living communities regularly consume less than 1000 calories per day. Many communities support their residents’ nutrition with commercial supplements. Which can not only be costly but wasteful as residents often choose not to consume them.
Real Food First
At CSG we believe that simple, hearty foods are the key to fortified nutrition. The Enhance program fortifies familiar foods like hot cereals, potatoes, soups with natural, wholesome ingredients. These calorie and protein-dense foods promote weight gain and support food intake. This “food first” approach has been proven to be more cost-effective than traditional commercial supplements. With this program, your community’s residents will enjoy real food to help reduce weight loss and malnutrition, while enhancing their overall well-being.
Nutrition that Works
Enhance offers nutrition strategies that meet the individualized nutritional needs of residents. Communities can decrease the costly use of supplements while facilitating the long-term wellness of their residents. Our Registered Dietitians work with residents to determine a strategy for offering Enhance based on diet, food preferences, ordered liquid consistency and other nutritional challenges. In the kitchen, Food Service Directors and Chef Managers work to ensure the recipes provided are crafted with consistency and nutritional adequacy.
Getting Started with Enhance
Our chefs are passionate about a food-first approach to nutrition! With the Enhance Program, your community’s kitchen will have access to every resource they need to implement fortified menu items, including raw ingredients, an inventory of recipes and specialized training with our executive chef. Enhance provides dishes that are familiar favorites, encouraging residents to eat more. It’s our goal to nourish your community and improve the quality of life for those we serve.
