Page 16 - The Deep Seated Issue of Choice

THE DEEP SEATED ISSUE OF CHOICE
WHAT IS POSSIBLE
that Millie likes getting up at 6:30 if she can feed her cat before going to the dining room at 7:30. This has shortened her wait in the hall and she often has something to talk about to the others at breakfast. Staff has succeeded by helping Millie enjoy her life within the efficiency model.
Transitional facilities can consider a variety of systems changes in dining that honor resident choice and individuality. Decentralized service with steam tables in dining rooms, open dining times, buffet or restaurant style service, family style service, the five meal plan or four meal plan (and) refrigerator rights offer point of service choice to all residents.
Millie gets up at 6:30 because of breakfast at 7:30. But, because one of her daily pleasures at home has always been to have her first cup of coffee in her pajamas, her caregivers have gone the extra mile to figure out how they can provide that to her daily. And it wasn’t an easy task – they had to come up with a coffee pot, find a safe place to keep it, work with dietary to get the coffee, and a staff member found a lovely cup, which also meant the caregivers washed and sanitized it each day.
Neighborhoods can begin to create home by cooking some special meals to order and involving residents in meal planning and preparation. Kitchenettes, full kitchens (and) shared decentralized production kitchens offer foods and beverages of choice to residents around the clock.
The neighborhood team discovered that Millie and others have different ideas about breakfast – what to eat, when to eat it. So, they met many times, studied regulations, determined resources available, (and) worked with the dietitian and dietary supervisor and the other shifts. They figured out how to provide substantial snacks to meet the 14-hour rule. Now Millie and her friends in the neighborhood have coffee, cold cereal, toast and hard boiled eggs available and easily accessible to any elder upon request before and after their traditional breakfast.
Households are true homes where residents can choose their meals and direct their lives with the assistance of their household family team of care givers.
Millie, (and everyone else’s) breakfast is prepared to order, upon request by any of the cross-trained staff. The refrigerator and cabinets are stocked with items known to be favorites of individual elders. Dishes (including Millie’s coffee cup) are washed in a dishwasher in the household, and as a result, they all enjoy beautiful and colorful dishes, often of their own choosing. (Action Pact, Through New Eyes, 2003)
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