Food In The Nicu

littleneoRN · Sep 6, 2008

I have a hard time picturing that JCAHO prohibits food in patient care areas seeing as patients in most other populations eat food... But I don't know what they have to say about food for other people. It's healthy for people to get out a for a few minutes here and there anyway. We have rooms of 4-6 babies and a nearby parent lounge with fridge storage and small snacks available. What is the benefit/need for food at the bedside other than to make parents happy? We do our best at our hospital to give parents a good experience, but we always tell them that taking safe care of the baby is our top priority, and our rules are oriented as such.

Mimi2RN, ASN, RN · Sep 6, 2008

I heard that the new idea is to have private rooms for NICU babies, but I never thought about the parents needing to eat. One of the Children's hospitals is putting in private rooms, I don't know how close to d/'c they will be used.

We provide meal trays for the mom when baby goes to couplet care just prior to d/c. No complaints about that! No food allowed in the NICU.

preemieRNkate, RN · Sep 6, 2008

No food or drinks in our NICU. We have 6 large rooms with several babies in each room. We'll be going to private rooms in about 2 or so years, not sure what the rules will be regarding food and drinks for the parents.

Sweden · Sep 7, 2008

I thought it was a JACHO (whatever the initials are) "law" that there is to be no food around any patients.

I seriously doubt that, what about all rest the of the patients in the hospital. I´m just guessing, but I think they get food served to them.........

We allow the parents to eat in the ICU area as long as they don't do it during KMC (not that many do). In the private rooms (were babies and parents stay) it´s up to them to decide how to handle food.

Anna

hikernurse · Sep 8, 2008

I seriously doubt that, what about all rest the of the patients in the hospital. I´m just guessing, but I think they get food served to them.........
We allow the parents to eat in the ICU area as long as they don't do it during KMC (not that many do). In the private rooms (were babies and parents stay) it´s up to them to decide how to handle food.
Anna

Anna, what's KMC?

Sweden · Sep 8, 2008

Anna, what's KMC?

KMC = Kangaroo Mother Care

hikernurse · Sep 9, 2008

KMC = Kangaroo Mother Care

Thanks. I'd hate to think of how much food I've dropped on my own babies when I was nursing them, LOL. No matter how recently they'd been fed, as soon as I'd sit down to eat, suddenly it was as if they hadn't eaten in weeks :rolleyes: .

SteveNNP, MSN, NP · Sep 9, 2008

Our unit has a large family lounge with a microwave, vending machines, tables/chairs and refrigerators. We encourage them to go there to eat....it gives us and the baby a little break...

austin9104 · Sep 9, 2008

We have a private room unit, and each family has their own fridge that they may store beverages/food in. They may only drink in the room, but it must be in the parent sleep area of the room. The front area is the nurse area, the middle is for the patient, and the back is for the parent(s). No food is allowed in the NICU, except for the nurse break room. If we drink, it is in an approved area (usually a counter by the nurses main station). We have a large family area lounge that has vending machines, microwaves, etc.

It really is all about the patient, so the decision should be a simple one.

texas2007, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2008

Officially, there is no food allowed in our patient care areas, but some nurses bring in drinks and put them in the cabinet and of course there's the 3 am candy snack...

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Sep 10, 2008

Before I start, I hate the idea of parents bringing food to the bedside. Some people, shall we say, are not as tidy as I am. . .

Now I'm going to give my usual rant about JCAHO & OSHA. I would venture to say that 90% of the things we are told are "JCAHO" standards are not really. They are hospital or physician preferences but the management knows it's easier to buffalo nurses into complying if they tell them that because there is no arguing with JCAHO or OSHA.

JCAHO generally regulates things the hospital and it's employees do, not so much how visitors or patients should behave. Also think about how most Pedi units that require parents to stay with their children provide guest trays which would then introduce food to the bedside area. Also, for those who have worked with babies so long they can't remember. . . Adult patients, even the sickest of the sick are allowed to have food at the bedside if they are able to tolerate it.

Now OSHA, I have had the privilege of working in several states. In some states (like the one I'm in now), they use OSHA as good guidelines but the agency has no teeth. At least one of the previous states I lived in OSHA was extremely powerful and more feared than JCAHO as they made truly random inspections and handed out hefty fines not only to hospitals but to the individuals breaking the regulations.

PICNICRN, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2008

I think the OP and her unit are becoming the latest victims of the Press-Gainey philosophy of "family centered care" and "customer satisfaction". My old unit went from a huge warehouse of isolettes and giraffs to all private rooms with sleeping areas and mini friges. I spent the first few minutes of my shift walking around the pt room picking up the parent's garbage/old food/drinks(which were all over the room) and throwing them away. I'd pick up a crumpled up wrapper from the sink and hold it up with a smile and say "Is this yours mom? Are you finished with it? OK I'll just pitch it." It is amazing what complete slobs people are- I do not even want to know what their homes look like!

Food is just fine in the room- they are supposed to keep it over by where they sleep, but that almost never happens. We're now turning into waitresses, but hey, maybe we'll get those Pt satisfaction scores up!!:chuckle

And as some others have posted, this has been going on in PICUs for a few years now.