Reader Letter: Dad and the Mystery Mush
April 5, 2012
Dear Cindy,
No mystery mush for me, please.
Your recent Kind Dining® Connection article, Mechanical Art Comes of Age, brought to mind a situation with my Dad that happened 4 years ago when he was in the physical rehab center.
They brought him his meal; we couldn’t identify it. We could see it was some sort of pureed protein mush in a heap. Hot dogs were on the menu. He tasted it. Sure enough, hot dog.
I said, “Dad, why are they pureeing your food?”
He said, “I don’t know; it’s been that way since I got here. That nurse I don’t like walked into my room and said, ‘I need to see your teeth.’ So, I showed her my teeth. And my food has always arrived pureed.”
My Dad could chew just fine with his teeth, although he was missing some teeth (we got him dentures not long after).
So I asked, “Well, did she ask you if you had problems chewing?”
“No,” Dad said.
“Were you eating pureed food at the hospital? Could the doctor have sent this order?” I pressed.
“No, I had regular food at the hospital,” Dad said, “She’s the only one who has ever given me pureed food.”
Needless to say, I tracked down someone who could change my Dad’s orders to regular food, but I was shocked a nurse would just look in his mouth, never ask him, and then make the decision to send pureed food.
Also, according to Dad, pureed hot dog is really disgusting.
<shudder>
Keep up the good work, Cindy. Our beloved elders need us to raise dining service standards in our healthcare and senior living communities.
LLF
Looking for hospitality training? 100 people experienced Kind Dining® in January, here are 6 of the top comments:
January 29, 2012
1. I enjoyed being here….. I learned something I never thought of. Cindy made it interesting in a way that made me listen and learn.
2. Lots of good information for all levels of staff.
3. Cindy was really able to keep the groups attention by having us interact. I really liked that..it was informative and brought clarity on several unclear procedures.
4. I am impressed. Although I did dislike having to leave my office… Once I was here I appreciated the class. “I am a person who can be a little hard to convince” .{“change in dining is comin”}
5. The class was very informative. I walked away with a little more knowledge of dining and services and tools we need to make a better experience for residents and guests of my community.
6. This is a great program and everyone benefits from it. We take our residents for granted and the only thing they ever want is a smile, hello, and thank you.
I enjoy teaching Kind Dining (hospitality and customer service) workshops and helping community staff at all levels learn new skills to implement right away which improves their service at mealtimes. I will be sharing more about my recent experience in St. Louis, working with Bethesda Health Group Inc. A company which is bringing Higher Standards of service to their residents, through skill development and relationship building of their staff. Read more in my next Kind Dining® Connection newsletter…
Teaching Respect
April 2, 2010
My husband had minor foot surgery early this morning and as the nurse put the final wrap on his foot, she asked me what I do for work. I shared, I teach food servers in senior living communities how to show good service to elder folks. She immediately reacted with a big surprised smile and blurted “that is so needed! Younger people just don’t know how to show respect to older people!” Read more
Checklist Manifesto
April 1, 2010
I want to recommend a great book: The Checklist Manifesto: How to get things right by Atul Gawande. Dr. Gawande is a physician who has pioneered the use of simple checklists in operating rooms to assist staff in getting organized, and prepared for surgery. Checklists help to get the work done right the first time. He has proven having a checklist saves lives and money. If you have participated in Kind Dining training, this might sound familiar! You might think this book would be a dry read, but just like our class, (and module 4 particularly), it is quite entertaining!
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
Insight #1-Sharing personal information…
January 9, 2009
What I find most often when talking with teens and young adults serving meals to residents is that they are just coping with how to address uncomfortable situations with residents. Most try to be polite, many admit to not having enough patience, and some are plain honest about their own rudeness to discourage uncomfortable conversations.
Insight #1-Sharing personal information…
January 9, 2009
What I find most often when talking with teens and young adults serving meals to residents is that they are just coping with how to address uncomfortable situations with residents. Most try to be polite, many admit to not having enough patience, and some are plain honest about their own rudeness to discourage uncomfortable conversations. Read more
