Nursing Homes & Aged Care

Optimum Intake provides dietary assessment and review services to residents of nursing homes / residential aged care facilities on the Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Lower Hunter areas. Common requests for assessments include: weight loss, decreased oral intake, malnutrition, texture modified/thickened fluids, tube feedings, estimating fluid and calorie requirements, supplement selection, diabetes control etc.

Please note: We are also able to assess and manage the nutritional care of Department of Veteran Affairs residents in low care facilities. Please refer to our DVA section to find out how to refer.

Menu Review / Menu Development

This services is available Australia wide. We provide menu assessments and provide assistance in menu development all of which are analysed against the best practice guidelines for the provision of food and nutrition as set out in the 'Best Practice Food and Nutrition Manual for Aged Care Facilities'. Research suggests that 'a meal intake providing less than 75% of nutritional needs, on a regular basis, even in the absence of other symptoms, indicates a high risk of malnutrition'. For this reason, the importance of menu planning within aged care facilities cannot be overestimated. A well planned menu will aim to meet the nutritional requirements of its residents. You will receive both an electronic and paper copy of our comprehensive report which includes constructive comments and practical suggestions based on your facilities requirements.

Staff In-services

We provide nutrition in-services to staff of residential aged care facilities / nursing homes across the Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Lower Hunter areas. Each session generally runs for 50 mins to an hour and can be offered at flexible times. Providing expert advice on a range of nutrition and dietetic issues, we aim to get everyone involved making it informative and as practical as possible. We encourage your kitchen staff, nursing staff, management and anyone else who plays a role in the care of residents to attend and be involved and increase awareness of how they can better support their residents nutritional care. Common topics for presentations include:

  • Diabetes and the Glycaemic Index
  • Fibre, Fluid and Constipation
  • Feeding the Undernourished Resident
  • Texture Modified diets and thickened fluids
  • Other topics by request

FREE Nutrition Newsletter – We provide a monthly newsletter featuring different topics relevant to the care of residents in aged care facilities. If you would like to receive our newsletter please contact us.

SAMPLE NEWSLETTER
Optimum Intake Dietitians

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