Dietary and Nutrition Services Flashcards

A surveyor observes that a tray delivered to a resident's room shows the hot entrée at 95°F. The minimum required serving temperature for hot foods in long-term care is:

Answer: 110°F

CMS requires that hot foods be served at a minimum of 110°F to ensure food is palatable, safe, and meets the regulatory standard for proper temperature.

During a nutrition review, a surveyor notes a resident with a pressure ulcer has not had a nutritional assessment update in 6 months despite a significant change in condition. This is MOST likely a deficiency in:

Answer: Comprehensive assessment/reassessment (F636)

A significant change in condition such as a new pressure ulcer requires a reassessment under F636; failing to update the nutritional assessment violates this requirement.

A resident who is Muslim requests that pork products never be served to them. Under resident rights regulations, the facility must:

Answer: Provide a pork-free alternative that is nutritionally adequate

Facilities must make reasonable accommodations for residents' religious and cultural dietary preferences, providing nutritionally adequate alternatives.

A food service worker is observed using a cloth towel to wipe food contact surfaces between uses. Under food safety standards, this practice is:

Answer: A violation because wiping cloths must be stored in sanitizer solution between uses

FDA Food Code requires that wiping cloths used on food contact surfaces be kept in a sanitizer solution between uses to prevent bacterial contamination.

A surveyor wants to evaluate whether residents are receiving adequate nutrition. Which clinical indicator is the MOST objective measure for reviewing nutritional status during a survey?

Answer: Trending body weight documentation and laboratory values

Serial weight documentation and relevant laboratory values (such as albumin, prealbumin) are objective clinical indicators of nutritional status used in survey review.

When reviewing a facility's diet order system, a surveyor finds that diet orders are changed by the charge nurse without a physician's countersignature. Under federal regulations, diet orders:

Answer: Must be ordered by a physician or authorized practitioner and documented in the medical record

Therapeutic and regular diet orders must be physician-ordered (or by an authorized practitioner) and properly documented, as they are medical orders affecting health.

A nursing facility offers only one meal seating time for all residents, and several residents report missing meals due to therapy scheduling conflicts. The MOST relevant regulatory concern is:

Answer: F809 – Frequency of Meals

F809 requires that meals be offered at times that meet residents' needs; a rigid single seating that causes residents to miss meals violates this standard.