DON passing trays in dining room

Specialties LTC Directors

Published

I have been asked by my ADM to assist in the dining room passing trays, and checking diet orders. Do any of you do this. I dont mind on occasion, because this is the best way to know your residents. I enjoy it. But it takes about an hour out of my day, and this is asked of me every day now. And the worst part is that I get the dinner time slot. The ADON and MDS gets the day slots. This is because they are not salaried. This makes me work 12 hrs a day, every day. I dont like this at all, and am looking for a way to deligate it to someone else. The nurses are passing their own meds, and they cannot leave the floor. This just started because our census has grown so large that we had to do it that way. Corp will not let us have but 1 CMA. When I was hired on, the hrs were from 8- 4:30. Most days I work 10 hrs, with some room to move around and leave earlier if I like. Now Im kinda put off by having to stay every day until 7 pm. What do you think?

Specializes in ICU, ER, MS, REHAB, HOSP ICE, LTC DON.

As far as checking trays and passing trays at dinner time;I started doing this 3 times a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays, I get the charge nurse; I let them choose which one to go to the dining room at supper. This way, I only do it 3 times a week now. Its working out. I dont mind it, dont get me wrong, but my son comes first in my life. He has church on Wed and Fridays is my day. I put in about 56 hrs a week.

At 12 hrs, I would be at 60. Is not about the money, but I dont want to get burned out. I would like to be here for a long time.

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Specializes in Geriatric/Sub Acute, Home Care.

If a DON Or ADON are around and have some free time which is rare and they just pick up an occasional tray and hand it out, well thats great. But as a regular thing, NO. Sounds like they think that DON needs more to do outside of her own work, or maybe she just doesnt look busy enough for their satisfaction. Watch the Administration may be testing them here for some strange reason. This is A CNAS job, Not the DON Or ADONs.

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Specializes in Geriatric/Sub Acute, Home Care.

ps....I know in a Nursing facility I worked in patients were getting the wrongs trays...either because the kitchen fowled up or mixed names or diet orders up and the CNAS just took the trays for being the right ones.....I know in one facility I would check each tray and hand it to the CNAS after checking to see if it were the right meal for that patient. But then other food trucks would come up and the CNAS would just take the trays without me checking them.....THEN THE FOOD WAS TOO COLD.....it was too much.

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Specializes in Med surg, LTC, Administration.

I truly believe you need to grow some....I am not being sarcastic, but serious. Your ED is being unrealistic and professional curtesy requires her to respect your status and judgement. Otherwise, how can you expect to work with her...as you stated, for a long time? The dining room decision leans toward clinical and should be made by you, or the two of you if insisted. I am surprised she is not treating you as a peer, or at the very least head clinician in charge, able to delegate as you see fit. Good luck! Peace!

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Specializes in Med surg, LTC, Administration.
ps....I know in a Nursing facility I worked in patients were getting the wrongs trays...either because the kitchen fowled up or mixed names or diet orders up and the CNAS just took the trays for being the right ones.....I know in one facility I would check each tray and hand it to the CNAS after checking to see if it were the right meal for that patient. But then other food trucks would come up and the CNAS would just take the trays without me checking them.....THEN THE FOOD WAS TOO COLD.....it was too much.

Which is why I believe this is a nursing function. Nurses should know, and make sure residents are getting their proper diet, at the proper temperature, with the proper consistency. Nursing supervisors are the ideal choice for dining room duty, for places that do not have supervisors, then the charge nurses should be responsible. I also don't think meds should be passed during meals. This is a residents home, and they should not be rushed or have meals interrupted for medications. Just think about eating a meal, then having crushed up pills, in applesauce fed to you, between bites. Yeck!

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Specializes in Home Health/Hospice.

Why not hire a part time CNA to pass out trays that you hire for a few hours?

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Specializes in Med surg, LTC, Administration.
Why not hire a part time CNA to pass out trays that you hire for a few hours?

The ED would flip you One, before dipping into the budget for this. In other words, oh h*ll No!

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Specializes in LTC, ER, ICU, Psych, Med-surg...etc....

When I was DON we had a rotating schedule for lunch and dinner between, DON, ADON, (2) MDS, (2) Unit Managers, and Administrator (also a nurse). Most times I was not in the dining room, but had a "lunch bunch" group of residents who required a great deal of help with their meals. The Administrator, myself, one MDS and one Unit Manager would assist these folks every day in the day room with their lunch meal. Basically extensive feeding assistance for one or two residents. Then one day a week I would stay and help in the dining room for dinner. I don't know of a regulation that specifically states "You must have a licensed nurse in the dining room", but the issue is that the residents must be provided with supervision. It is the idea that if someone chokes or "falls out" then there is aid readily available. However, being in the dining room and falling out or choking is a whole lot safer than residents who eat in their room all alone and get in some type of distress...I mean you got a room full of people there and many of the residents are fully alert and oriented and can call out for assistance. Sometimes when facility administration or corporations want you to do something their way they say there is a "regulation" that says you have to do it when in fact there is no such regulation...but it is a good practice which can prevent a lawsuit and harm to your residents if there is a licensed nurse trained and certified in CPR available to render aid immediately if a resident should go into distress in the dining room. I mean, its a public place and it wouldn't look good for the facility if the resident lay in the floor choking or whatever while someone "ran" for the nurse. I will check the regulations again and see if there is one that says "Thou shalt have a nurse in the dining room..."

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since a diet is an MD order it is policy in most places that a licensed nurse check the trays. In the event someone chokes a licensed nurse needs to be on hand. The issue is if your state regs. state that a DON cannot assume charge nurse responsibilities then asking a DON to do this could be a problem. The diets are on the MAR and the nurse assigned to give meds. to the res. has to check this box if. Meaning that they where the one who personally checked that the res. received the correct diet. This is stuff you could bring up to the person who is asking you to do this. All you see is a diet card on a tray. Without looking at the MAR you have no idea if this diet is current. Whoever is doing this needs to look at the MAR then the tray then the res. it is passed to then sign it. I have been asked to do the same thing for up to 2 meals a day.

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Specializes in LTC.
Whoever is doing this needs to look at the MAR then the tray then the res. it is passed to then sign it. I have been asked to do the same thing for up to 2 meals a day.

Is this realistic? Unless there's restrictions on the residents diet. Its not in our MAR. Med cart/MAR is not allowed in the dining room. It would take FOREVER to bring all the MARS and flip through to find each resident and check their diet. I don't know about you but if I was the resident sitting there waiting to eat while we did all this, I wouldn't be too happy.

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Specializes in Med surg, LTC, Administration.
Is this realistic? Unless there's restrictions on the residents diet. Its not in our MAR. Med cart/MAR is not allowed in the dining room. It would take FOREVER to bring all the MARS and flip through to find each resident and check their diet. I don't know about you but if I was the resident sitting there waiting to eat while we did all this, I wouldn't be too happy.

Diet is in the MAR, but it does not mean you have to take it into the dining room. The nurses should know all the diets and make sure the proper diet is given. If not the MAR, a paper, audit tool, memory, whatever...the meals should be checked and we should know how to accomplish this.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.
Diet is in the MAR, but it does not mean you have to take it into the dining room. The nurses should know all the diets and make sure the proper diet is given. If not the MAR, a paper, audit tool, memory, whatever...the meals should be checked and we should know how to accomplish this.

I used to do dining room duty every lunch time. My facility had 140 beds an about 55 people ate in the dining room. There is no way I could memorize that many diets. Since we are supposed to be moving toward culture change and resident centered care, I think diet orders will become much more liberalized and all this nonsense will stop.

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