Dietary

Motivating your team to do the right things all the time in your kitchen and dining rooms is an ongoing priority! Basic skills of safe food handling, cleanliness and pride in your jobs are what we need to instill in our dietary staff from back of the house to front of the house. This training will review what is routine versus deep cleanliness, what the CMS food safety regulation expectations are, and how to incorporate clean competencies in your team’s kitchen culture.

Do you need a break from all things related to COVID-19? Join us on this interactive cooking demonstration as we depart from the pandemic and visit regions across the globe. Chef Doug will prepare four courses featuring flavors from around the world, inviting you to prepare with him! This will inspire participants to create a culture open to trying new flavors through a fun and exciting experience. You will learn ways to incorporate global cuisine dishes into your menu planning and to appreciate the importance of honoring preferences in senior living communities.

Providing food choice is very important in the aged care sector, where quality of life is paramount. Food choices vary with individuals and include unconscious and conscious decisions made by an elderly person before or at the point of food consumption. This training program will review a resident’s rights in choosing the foods they would like to eat and the facility’s responsibility in making sure a resident’s nutritional needs are being met.

Planning for and during times of crisis is critical – but what happens when a crisis comes sooner and larger than you can possibly plan for? With the ever-changing social dynamics we find ourselves in, it can be easy for our leadership styles to become paralyzed. Learn how to effectively lead a successful dining program by identifying a method for building flexibility into your disaster planning, being flexible in your day-to-day operations, and by finding new ways of communicating with your team.

How do you plan for the unknown? With COVID-19, there were so many unknowns. Senior living communities shifted quickly to provide meals and basic care to residents given a multitude of challenges. Hear perspectives from a panel of food service industry professionals who share their real-life stories in battling this pandemic and insights and advice on lessons learned. Panel members include Terri Murray of Care Initiatives, Kathleen Niedert of Western Home Communities, and Chelsi Ingles and Tammy Harms of Linn Manor.

What is the CMS Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) process, and how should you as the dietary leader include your staff and systems into a solid written plan that meets your facility’s QAPI committee’s goals? CMS Phases II and III now require your community have a QAPI program in place with an active food and nutrition services representative. This training will provide an overview of the CMS QAPI process and Mega Rules Phase III expectations, as well as a discussion on what dietary systems would be QAPI appropriate and ways to educate and engage the plan with your team.