Labrina Village, SA

Nutrition and Hydration Program

Throughout 2005 the residents and staff of Labrina Village focused on four major projects. One of these projects involved improving residents' nutrition and hydration. The project developed from opportunities for improvement identified by residents and staff.

Achieving a healthy nutritional status involves conducting a comprehensive assessment on admission and on an ongoing basis. Research shows that older people are at risk of malnutrition; however, the risk of malnutrition can be easily identified using the appropriate risk assessment tool.

At Labrina Village each resident is assessed using a Nutrition and Hydration Risk Assessment on admission and then three monthly. The risk assessment identifies the degree of risk to malnutrition and directs staff to implement interventions to eliminate or minimise the risk. Each resident is weighed monthly or more frequently depending on the degree of risk to malnutrition.

In addition to this the Resident Menu Review Committee has provided enthusiastic participation throughout the project. The Chef, Diversional Therapist and Site Manager are also members of this Committee. It is the committee's responsibility to establish a nutritious menu which includes breakfast, 2 courses to choose from at lunch and dinner and nutritious snacks and drinks between meals. The Dieticians from Nutrition Professionals Australia conducted a review of the developed menu and made additional recommendations to further improve the nutritional content of the menu.

Other associated quality activities include:

• focusing on the meal time experience for residents with dementia
• improvement of the dining room environment
• thoroughly assessing the sense of taste for residents with dementia
• introducing the GI menu for residents with diabetes and
• placing a greater emphasis on staff education in relation to Nutrition and Hydration.

The benefits to the resident included:

• consistent weight monitoring
• early detection and prevention of malnutrition
• 78% of residents increased in weight by one to six kilograms over a six month period and
• improvements are noted in other associated areas for example the urinary tract infection rate decreased and wound healing time improved significantly.

Importantly however, the resident focused project provided residents with a forum for residents to be actively involved in decision making and as a result this achieved a much greater satisfaction with the meal service.