Hospitality is the key…
March 19, 2009
I just read in a culture change newsletter about a community that has created a new title for dining staff called hospitality associates. This particular community is set up in neighborhoods, they adjusted breakfast dining times for a more leisurely approach ( 7am-9am) to allow residents flexibility in their morning routine. What they discovered in this process is that there was more time for staff to interact with residents on a one to one basis and genuinely connect. Read more
Servers: Nursing vs Foodservice
March 9, 2009
Are servers working in the nursing department as caring as the food service department staff about serving a meal? This question often tops the list of challenges in senior living communities., whether I’m working with a skilled nursing home, assisted living community, residential care community, or Continuing Care Community (CCRC).
A dining director in a CCRC remarked last week that servers from their nursing department (nurse aides) care about the residents, however many don’t care to learn new skills about meal service. She exacerbated, ” they don’t see a need to spend the time learning because they believe they already know everything about the residents”. Read more
Community connectors…
March 6, 2009
People who serve meals in care communities are often overlooked when training dollars are budgeted. And even as communities strive to improve overall systems for culture change, staff who serve meals are often left out of the discussion groups or learning circles. Getting the relationship right between the server and resident and among the servers themselves is critical to experience the enjoyment of sharing a meal and creating community. All servers no matter which department they work, need to know the community’s serving standards. Applying this knowledge and performing to higher standards is a powerful tool to making meals meaningful.
New directions…
March 4, 2009
I have had a break in my life as my mom passed away in January. It has been very hard to get back on track with the business of making mealtime meaningful for residents and staff in care communities. It is so important and I was jarred back to reality yesterday when listening to this story from a dining director. She said her dad lives in the community she works. He suggested she hire her autistic brother to work in the dining room serving meals. She explained it wouldn’t be appropriate because with autism its difficult to connect with people and he didn’t have the serving skills. Her dad looked at her and said, “but you already hire people like him”.