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Focusing on the dining environment and experience will result in communities electing to add or repurpose some of their traditional dining settings to include:
• Grab-and-go options, where residents can have soups, sandwiches and in some instances basic groceries (which could include eggs, milk, bread, cereals) and other convenience items.
• Bistro/Café, which offers a less formal setting and also encourages social interaction. • Bar/Pub, which could include amenities for residents that range from large screen TVs to pool tables. • Flexible access and dining hours are also a key component in addressing senior’s expectations.
As senior living providers begin to accommodate the dining preferences of younger residents, they may also find themselves serving people outside of their immediate community. Expanded menus, new and diverse venues, and more flexible hours will likely encourage residents to invite friends and family members to enjoy the facility’s dining experience with them. Being able to “entertain” in this way can boost residents’ mood immensely, which further supports the individual’s overall wellness.
In addition to including diverse dining options and flexible hours, it is important to understand that some seniors will be looking for menu offerings that are familiar and remind them of home, or growing up. As menus change and the selection of available meals widens, these should also be included— particularly the more healthy options. This is increasingly important because, as seniors are living longer than ever before, they want to maintain a healthy lifestyle as they age.
Having the capability to customize each resident’s menu options to their personalized nutrition needs is of extreme value to senior living providers, according to the MatrixCare study. A nutrition management software program that allows you to build and adjust dietary options around individual resident needs, allows facilities to provide the highest level of person-centered care.
About the authors: Amy Wootton, RDN, Director of Nutrition Management and Mauricio Hermosillo, Director of RetailTracker, wrote this article based on MatrixCare research of its customers. For more information on MatrixCare MealTracker or RetailTracker, contact MatrixCare at 866.469.3766.
50 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE MAY/JUNE 2018
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