Question for RNs and LPNs. I was told today by representatives of a private duty home care company that pureeing food for a client is considered skilled nursing and can only done by someone qualified as such. Any input on this? I asked a relative about this but was confused at the time and can't recall her answer!
A Speech therapist and interventional Radiologist have to do the testing for dysphagia. Maybe this testing has not been done and the agency does not want to run the risk of the patient choking. Actually come to think of it the reason is right there. Only a skilled professional is able to handle the treatment for a dysphagia patient who aspirates. So it is not actually the use of the blender that is the problem
I've seen regular caregivers take a jar of thickener and pour unmeasured into a glass of juice
I would think if meal prep is part of the service then putting it into a blender shouldn't be an issue - if so can you purée ahead of time so they are merely heating up in the microwave ?
Sounds to me like one of those unintended consequences of well-intentioned guidelines. In a similar way, only nurses or SLTs who had done the specific training were allowed to assess swallowing reflexes in stroke patients in our local hospital. The upshot - apart from my turning into a gremlin and biting metaphorical chunks off people - was that my mother lay on a a specialist stroke ward for seven hours without water because none of the many nurses and doctors present were "qualified" to assess her swallow reflex. Of course they were bloody qualified! - just not on the right list.
What about if you purée the food yourself, put it in sealed containers in the fridge, and ask the HCAs to warm it through in the microwave?
Understandably when you are assigned a special diet in the NH they do not even attempt to stray from it, even though some people can handle forbidden items occasionally. My mom always liked her crunchy snacks and never choked on them, so last week I took some potato chips and warily fed her little nickel sized pieces... she gobbled them up!
My curiosity is piqued.
Did you ask the agency if this is so and why?
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