Committed to Safety of our Residents, Team Members, and Families
Our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our residents, team members, and families. We recognize that while we’ve prohibited visitation over the last six months, our team members are the biggest variable in the lives of our residents. We have prioritized their safety so that we can keep our residents safe. We have done this by working diligently to provide all of the personal protective equipment they need to protect themselves from transmitting any symptoms to our residents.
When our team members enter the facility, they are first asked to sanitize their hands; then there is a station with surgical and/or N-95 masks for them to don. Once they have done that, they are then screened for any symptoms and their temperature is taken. If a team member has experienced any symptoms, or has a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees, they are not permitted to work in accordance with Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Ohio Department of Health (ODH) guidelines.
Since mid-April, we have had the ability to test team members and residents for COVID-19 using a nasal swab. Through our partnership with University of Cincinnati Medical Center, we are able to receive results in 24-48 hours. We use the information to determine if we need to quarantine or isolate our residents, and if we need to keep team members off of work following CDC guidelines.
Since July, our team members have been participating in bi-weekly testing. I’m proud to report that our positivity rate has been about 1%, and in almost all of the cases, the team member has been asymptomatic.
In July, we started visitation, and we’ve adopted a similar process for screening our families and we have spaced people out six feet apart and, in many cases, we’ve used a plexiglass screen to separate people.
We share this with you because we believe that our facilities are some of the safest places for our residents, team members, and families. We are proud of the job we have done managing our residents and team members throughout the first six months of COVID, and we expect to continue making every effort to maintain the highest level of infection control practices.
We invite you to complete the contact us form located on each facility web page if you’re interested in more information.
Thank you.
Chase M. Kohn
Chief Operating Officer
Q: My 92-year-old grandmother is recovering from a few different infections and has developed difficulty swallowing. She used to be a meat-and-veggie eater, but now she can eat only soft foods without choking. What are some soft food options?
—Patty B., Augusta, GA
A: The soft food diet is one that includes foods that are easy to chew, swallow, and digest. The need to eat soft or puréed foods is common in the elderly, many of whom develop dysphagia (difficulty chewing or swallowing). This diet is also good for people recovering from oral surgery or surgery to the head, neck, or stomach.
We may not think about it, but swallowing is a surprisingly complex function that involves more than 30 nerves and muscles. Dysphagia can lead to malnutrition and dehydration. It can also increases the risk of choking or developing aspiration pneumonia, an infection that can develop when food goes down the “wrong way” and enters the lungs.
Dysphagia can occur at any age, but seniors are at an increased risk because of normal aging, illnesses, and medications that affect the body’s swallowing mechanism. Estimates suggest that 15–22 percent of people over age 50 have dysphagia. For those in assisted living facilities, the prevalence is even higher: up to 60 percent have feeding difficulties.
Sauces used to help thin out foods are an important part of the soft food diet. Opt for a simple butter and olive oil sauce, or go all-out with cream sauces, pasta sauces, hollandaise, or bone broth gravy.
The first step in treatment is to make a proper diagnosis. Symptoms linked to dysphagia include choking when eating, coughing when swallowing, recurrent heartburn, a sensation of food getting stuck in the throat or chest, and regurgitation.
There are several possible dysphagia causes, including stroke, dementia, esophageal disorders, multiple sclerosis, Myasthenia gravis, Parkinson’s disease, and radiation therapy to the neck and head area. Certain medications, such antibiotics, can increase the risk of esophageal infections, leading to swallowing problems. In some patients, no cause is found.
A critical part of treatment is starting on a specialized diet that addresses the body’s basic nutritional needs. Here are some easy-to-swallow foods to try:
Protein is the most important nutrient for healing from illness and repairing tissues after surgery. But it is the hardest for people on soft food diets to get in a form they can safely eat.
Try small bits of ground or finely minced meat or poultry in a moist form with coconut oil, olive oil, or a sauce. If this type of meat is too hard to swallow, purée it with broth and/or oil to make it softer.
Eggs often work better than meats for many people because they are naturally softer. Good options include minced soft or medium poached eggs, soft scrambled eggs cooked in coconut oil or butter, and puréed soft scrambled eggs with cheese.
As a source of protein for vegetarians, or for variety in the diet, try mashed beans, such as refried beans thinned with vegetable broth. Other options include dips such as hummus or Mexican-style bean dips.
Bone broth is a healing food that’s a rich source of easy-to-digest protein and other nutrients; however, it can be too thin for people with swallowing problems. Try blending it with starchy veggies such as carrots or potatoes. Or whisk tapioca flour into melted butter, then slowly whisk in bone broth to make a gravy.
A wide range of powders can be used to fortify shakes, smoothies, or other foods with extra protein. Try PaleoProPaleo Protein Powder made from beef protein concentrate and egg protein; collagen-based protein powders, such as Primal KitchenCollagen Fuel; hemp protein powders, such as Nutiva Organic Hemp Seed Protein; bone broth protein powders, such as Ancient NutritionBone Broth Protein; or pea-based protein powders, such as NOWOrganic Pea Protein. Experiment and decide which ones you like best.
article courtesy of BetterNutrition.com