How Do CMS Regulations Affect Senior Dining?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provide important guidelines to help keep residents safe in senior living communities across the country. Here are some important reminders on how CMS requirements affect senior dining. 

What Senior Living Communities Must Provide

CMS guidelines state that “the facility must provide each resident with a nourishing, palatable, well-balanced diet that meets his or her daily nutritional and special dietary needs, taking into consideration the preferences of each resident.” Related to dining services, communities must employ:

• A registered dietitian (RD) or other clinically qualified nutrition professional – either on a full-time, part-time, or consultative basis. If the RD is not employed full-time by the community, it must have a staff member who serves as the director of food and nutrition services and is sufficiently trained.
• Support staff that can fully carry out the functions of food service for all members of the community.

CMS requires that senior communities offer:

• Assistive feeding devices for residents who need them.
• Meals and snacks that meet nutritional needs and take resident allergies into account.
• Published menus that make reasonable efforts to fulfill the dietary needs of residents, as well as respect their religious and cultural preferences.
   

14-Hour Rule

CMS dictates a 14-hour rule, meaning that there should be less than 14 hours between food service. This rule applies to the overnight time period between the evening meal and the following morning’s breakfast. If a community offers residents a “nourishing snack” before bed, there can be 16 hours between the bedtime snack and breakfast the following morning. 

CMS defines a nourishing snack as a verbal offering of at least one food item from the basic food groups. Here are some examples:

• Cereal with milk
• Half a turkey sandwich with milk or juice
• Milk or a milkshake with graham crackers
   

State guidelines will provide more details, but you can also reach out to a member of your Sodexo Seniors team for more information.