La. Admin. Code tit. 50 § II-10129

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section II-10129 - Dietetic Services

A. A designated full-time staff member suited by training and experience in food management and nutrition shall be responsible for supervision of dietary services. If the designated staff member is not a qualified dietitian, he/she shall serve as the dietary manager an10129. Dietetic Servicesd shall function with frequent, regularly scheduled consultation from a person who is a qualified dietitian. A minimum consultation time shall be not less than eight hours per month and as needed to ensure nutrition needs of residents are addressed timely. A copy of the consultant's contract shall be available to the State Survey Agency for review. In addition, the facility shall employ sufficient supportive personnel competent to carry out the functions of the dietetic service. Food service personnel shall be on duty daily for a period of 12 or more continuous hours.

B. Dietitian

1. The facility shall employ a qualified dietician either full-time, part-time or on a consultant basis.

2. If a qualified dietician is not employed full time, the facility shall designate a person to serve as the dietary manager.

3. A qualified dietician is one who is qualified based upon registration by the Commission on Dietetics of the American Dietetic Association and licensure by the Louisiana Board of Examiners in Dietetics and Nutrition.

C. Dietary Manager. (S)he is a person who is one of the following:

1. a qualified dietitian;

2. a graduate of a dietetic technician program, correspondence or classroom, approved by the American Dietetic Association;

3. has successfully completed a course of study, by correspondence or otherwise, which meets the minimum eligibility requirements for membership in the Dietary Managers' Association

4. has successfully completed a training course at a state approved school, vocational or university, which includes course work in foods and food service, supervision, and diet therapy. Documentation of an eight hour course of formalized instruction by the employing facility's consultant dietitian in therapeutic diets is permissible if the course of study meets on the foods and food service and supervision requirements or

5. is currently enrolled in an acceptable course which will qualify an individual upon completion.

D. Dietary Consultant

1. If the staff members designated as food service supervisors are not qualified dieticians, they shall be required to schedule a minimum of eight hours of consultation per month with qualified dieticians.

2. The facility must employ sufficient support personnel competent to carry out the functions of the dietary service.

E. Menus. Menus must:

1. meet the nutritional needs of the residents in accordance with the recommended dietary allowance of the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences;

2. be prepared in advance; and

3. be followed.

4. Menu changes are acceptable provided the above requirements are met. Records of menus as actually served are retained for six months.

F. Food. Food must be:

1. prepared by methods that conserve nutritive value, flavor and appearance;

2. palatable, attractive and at the proper temperature;

3. prepared in a form designed to meet individual needs; and

4. substituted for residents who refuse food served and the substitutes offered shall be of similar nutritional value.

5. Therapeutic diets must be prescribed by the attending physician.

G. Frequency of Meals. At least three meals shall be served daily at regular times comparable to normal mealtimes of the community.

1. There must be no more than 14 hours between a substantial evening meal and breakfast the following morning except as provided below:

a. bedtime snacks must be offered each evening; and

b. when a nourishing snack is provided at bedtime up to 16 hours may elapse between a substantial evening meal and breakfast the following day if a resident group agrees to this meal span.

H. Assistive Devices. The facility must provide special eating equipment and utensils for residents who need them.

I. Sanitary Conditions. The facility must:

1. procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory by federal, state, or local authorities;

2. store, prepare, distribute, and serve food under sanitary conditions; and

3. dispose of garbage and refuse properly.

J. Diets. If the facility accepts or retains individuals in need of medically prescribed special diets, the menus for such diets are to be prescribed by the attending physician and planned by a professionally qualified dietitian. A current therapeutic diet manual approved by the dietitian shall be readily available to attending physicians, nursing staff, and dietetic service personnel.

La. Admin. Code tit. 50, § II-10129

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of the Secretary, Bureau of Health Services Financing, LR 22:34 (January 1996).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 46:153.