{"id":25372,"date":"2023-01-03T09:01:19","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T14:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-gordon-food-service-canada.pantheonsite.io\/ideas\/service-excellence-for-dining-and-dementia\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T12:18:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:18:47","slug":"service-excellence-for-dining-and-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/service-excellence-for-dining-and-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"Service excellence for dining and dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-train-your-team-to-make-every-mealtime-experience-special\">Train your team to make every mealtime experience special.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For people with dementia or memory care challenges, the best mealtime experience is served with routines and regularity. Your staff can make connections that enhance comfort and encourage better eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Guests may have varying levels of cognitive awareness. Better understanding of individuals can create a nurturing environment. Here are dining strategies to support guests with dementia:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Interaction\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Address the individual directly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Focus on the individual, not the task.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be attentive, flexible and patient.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Environment\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ensure adequate lighting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide a calm environment.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Limit ambient noise, such as TV.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep the table setting simple. Avoid patterned plates, napkins, placemats and tablecloths.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assure the guest is positioned properly and everything is within reach.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use aromatherapy to stimulate appetite.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dining routine\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Keep things consistent.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allow plenty of time to eat.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide food cues and encouragement as needed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide assistance with tasks such as cutting food and using condiments, as needed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Offer small, frequent meals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consider the individual dining preferences. Refer to dining recommendations in their care plan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-watch-for-warning-signs\">Watch for warning signs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Agitation can indicate the guest is not tolerating the meal. Watch for the following and involve the interdisciplinary care team (speech language pathologist, nurse, dietitian, physician) immediately:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Frequent coughing with meals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drooling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wet (gurgling) sounds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regurgitation of food.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Complaining of feeling like food is stuck in the throat.<br><br>\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Train your team to make every mealtime experience special. For people with dementia or memory care challenges, the best mealtime experience is served with routines and regularity. Your staff can make connections that enhance comfort and encourage better eating. Guests may have varying levels of cognitive awareness. Better understanding of individuals can create a nurturing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":26658,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-running-your-business","category-healthcare"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Service excellence for dining and dementia | Gordon Food Service<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Enhance the dining experience for residents with memory loss. Discover expert tips on dementia-friendly dining and nutrition.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/service-excellence-for-dining-and-dementia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Service excellence for dining and dementia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Enhance the dining experience for residents with memory loss. Discover expert tips on dementia-friendly dining and nutrition.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/service-excellence-for-dining-and-dementia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gordon Food Service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-03T14:01:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-12T17:18:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/7-WOW-Dementia-760x400_0.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cody.rivers@gfs.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GFSDelivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Service excellence for dining and dementia | Gordon Food Service","description":"Enhance the dining experience for residents with memory loss. 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