Seating arrangement and meal choice part of dining experience
Thursday November 15, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
There’s no place in a long-term care home where supportive measures are used more than in the dining room, says Scott Ladoucier, supportive measures specialist at Springdale Country Manor.

In October, the OMNIway reported how the Peterborough long-term care home has a supportive measures initiative where staff members identify residents who exhibit behaviours and have these individuals fed first to reduce behaviours.

Another supportive measure initiative used by Ladoucier and other staff members is making sure residents in the dining room are properly matched with other residents, as well as sitting in the right location.

“If I have someone who is maybe used to having a lot of control in their house or in their previous occupation, they might be somebody who I’m not going to put with their back to the door,” explains Ladoucier. “I’m going to turn them around so they can see people coming and going. It will keep them less anxious.”

Properly matching residents at tables and arranging for them to sit in specific spots can reduce behaviours and create a harmonious atmosphere in the dining room, he adds.

Staff members also try to match residents who have nurturing personalities with those who may need some extra help during mealtimes, says Ladoucier.

Ladoucier remembers a time when two residents were sitting at a fully-assisted table in the dining room and the staff member who was seated at the table left momentarily. As soon as the staff member had left, one resident pulled herself out of her wheelchair and began to feed the other resident.

Supportive measures are also used in the dining room when it comes to having residents choosing meals. OMNI homes offer residents a choice between two meals at each mealtime. Finding out what some residents would like to eat can be a challenge, says Ladoucier.

“With somebody who has Alzheimer’s, if I say to them, ‘Would you like the fish or would you like the chicken?’ nine times out of 10 they’re going to say chicken, not because they prefer it, but because it’s the last thing I said,” explains Ladoucier.

To mitigate this problem, staff members will put the two meal choices in front of a resident who has dementia. Even if the resident is unable to communicate verbally, Ladoucier says staff members can tell a resident’s meal preference by their facial expression.

“It just makes the whole dining experience more pleasurable and run more smoothly,” he says.

Related Story:
Supportive measures plays a part at mealtimes