3 Ways to Advocate for Higher Standards in Your Dining Room
April 9, 2012
This week, the health care industry celebrates National Patient Advocacy Week (April 9th – 13th), which started me thinking about how senior living communities can advocate on behalf of residents for higher standards in the dining room.
Here are three easy tips for fostering hospitality and service improvement in your community:
- Shift your service focus to put residents’ needs first—and encourage your dining service team to do so as well.
- Teach your staff the importance dining has for the overall health and well-being of the community.
- Share your copies of Kind Dining® Connection with your staff. The Be Kind tips are perfect for passing out to servers or posting in the break room. The Activities Director or Dining Manager will appreciate the Table Tip. News and best practices articles will be helpful to managers and team leads.
New eyes’ for nursing homes through QIS in Long-Term Living Magazine
March 8, 2012
Even when putting resident needs first is a clear intention, it may take new eyes to see where and how transforming change must occur.
My latest e-article for Long-Term Living Magazine, New Eyes’ for Nursing Homes Through QIS, talks about the new QIS expectations and how to take a fresh perspective in your senior living community.
How about you? What do you see when you look around your senior living community? Are better relationships being built? Are you defining and achieving higher standards of service quality? Are you educating staff about new skills and responsibilities?
I’d love to hear about your challenges and successes. Feel free to post your stories below in the comments section.
Hospitality and Leadership in the Dining Room
February 13, 2012
Don’t miss Hospitality and Leadership the Dining Room, published January 31st in Long-Term Living Magazine, to learn more about:
- Training front line servers
- Improving your bottom line
- Breaking down barriers
Leave No ‘Odd Man Out’ at the Dining Table in Long-Term Living
December 27, 2011
After recently teaching my dining class in a senior care community, I had an illuminating conversation with a resident. During the class I had mentioned that staff and administrators should learn the importance of setting the table mindfully. This resident shared her frustration in seeing all the tables in her dining room set with even numbers of place settings. She described her discouragement looking for a place to sit, feeling herself “the odd man out,” even when no one was seated at the table. [read more at Long-Term Living Magazine]

