Aged Care Menu Guidelines
The standards for the aged care accreditation has become quite demanding in terms of increasing the facilities and the excellence in aged care services. More and more focus has been given on improving food quality and maintaining hygiene. The food service managers too are struggling with providing better quality within the specified budget.
Having said this, we already know that as a person progresses in the later years of his life, he encounters numerous health issues such as diabetes, low or high blood pressure, lower appetite, weight loss or excessive weight gain, reduced bone density and so on. As a result, they need a better caring environment that provides them proper nutrition at regular intervals. Malnutrition is the biggest cause of problems in the old age. The latest aged care software systems and the food labeling system is helping the aged care hospitality industry to identify nutritious supply for the elderly.
What leads to malnutrition and weight loss in the elderly? To cater to our questions, we discussed with the healthcare experts and we have come with the following major factors:
1. Multiple Medical Conditions
As we get older, our body’s fighting mechanism gets weaker and we develop numerous medical conditions. Due to this, the capacity for food intake is reduced and the right nutrition is not supplied to the body.
2. Depression
any of the aged people are suffering from depression. The depression hinders their growth and they are not able to eat food on time.
3. Poor Appetite
The more the age, the less are the cravings to eat food and when there is no one to look after, this leads to malnutrition in the body.
However, these were just a small clan of problems and there can be several other problems that lead to malnutrition in the aged. Usually, the problems are individual and they need to be dealt on a one-to-one basis.
The aged care providers can make use of the aged care software to update every small detail of the individual and based on the personal preferences and requirements, the food can be served with the help of right food labeling.
Food is the source of nutrition and we should treat malnutrition as our first priority towards improving the health of the aged. AMidst this, the menu planning for the aged should be perfect and we follow a strict set of guidelines for the right food preparation. While preparing the menu, we should ask the following questions:
- Is the menu supplies the residents with the required nutrition to the body?
- the portions decided are as per the guidelines?
- Will the individuals have enough opportunities to eat during the day?
- Is the food cooked under hygienic conditions?
- Is the food correctly textured?
- Is there sufficient staff to serve the food to the individual?
There are number of aged care software systems available in the industry today that can help achieve many of the above mentioned criteria with a tap of a finger.
Utilising latest technology to identify nutritional needs and designing menu using readily available Aged Care Software System can really enhance efficiency in aged care catering.
