The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released new Interpretive Guidelines for nutrition and sanitary conditions in nursing homes effective September 1, 2008. The changes clarify areas such as assessment, care planning, and interventions for LTC residents.
The new guidelines are significant as it contains detailed instructions for acceptable parameters of nutritional status, details on required nutritional assessment, food and fluid intake, care planning, and weight-related interventions. There are also added sections on wound healing and feeding tubes which were not in the previous Interpretive Guidelines. Appendix PP – Guidance to Surveyors for Long Term Care Facilities updates … Read the rest