Last updated on November 13th, 2024
Across the United States, a growing crisis demands attention: the care and support of individuals living with dementia. Memory care communities play a vital role in addressing this need. Did you know that there are 20 states in the U.S. that don’t have a high enough neurologist-to-person (with dementia) ratio — there aren’t enough doctors to care for people with this degenerative disease. These areas, known as “dementia neurology deserts,” are desperate for not only specialists but also direct care workers.
The Alzheimer’s Association reports that over 1 million more staff members are needed to meet the demand for the expected increase of Alzheimer’s disease diagnoses by 2031. From kitchen staff to dining room attendants, those who work with seniors in memory care are necessary to support residents in long-term memory care as they battle the impact Alzheimer’s disease and related memory disorders have on the eating experience. Sensory-inclusive dining environments can significantly enhance mealtime experiences, reducing agitation and improving nutrition. Long-term care communities can create a holistic and supportive atmosphere by integrating comforting elements like smell, taste, touch, sound, and visuals.
In this blog, you’ll learn what it’s like for residents with dementia in the dining room and ways to improve their experience using the senses.
Dining with Dementia
The first step to making your dining program more inclusive to residents with dementia starts with something you’re probably familiar with — person-centered care. But instead of jumping straight into strategies and areas for improvement, let’s take a moment to envision what it’s like to dine with dementia.
You sit at a dinner table, surrounded by unfamiliar faces, with a plate of unrecognizable food in front of you. Every bite is a puzzle, every flavor a surprise. Memories of favorite dishes fade in and out, with the nostalgia providing a sense of comfort. However, the thoughts are brief and fleeting. As quickly as you could smell your grandmother’s apple pie, it’s gone. The confusion, frustration, and disorientation that follow are a part of your daily routine and, unfortunately, can progressively worsen.
As an expert in person-centered care, you understand this is only a glimpse into the mind of an individual with cognitive impairments as they try to enjoy their meal.
Ambiance is Everything
The dining room is the center of every home, even if that home is in a residential memory care community. Because of that, maintaining a comfortable and secure environment will take your dining program from just okay to something to write home about. The best way to do that? Engage all the senses, creating an all-around enriching experience at every meal. Let’s go through a few ways to do that for each of the senses, specifically in working with your residents with memory impairments.
Inclusive Dining for Memory Care
Smell
Fill your dining space with warmth and familiarity by integrating different scents into the room. Whether you use diffusers with calming fragrances like lavender or vanilla or add more herbs and spices to your residents’ favorite dishes (which stimulate appetite), scents are essential in making mealtime more enjoyable. They’re also a large part of improving long-term care residents’ brain health. A University of California, Irvine study found that older adults (ages 65-80) had better memory when around various scents. However, before adding any scents to the environment, check with all residents (and their pets) for allergies or sensitivities to smells.
Touch
Comfort is just as impactful as scent when eating. For people with memory problems, the more familiar and physically comfortable you can make the environment, the better. Even using cloth napkins in place of paper napkins can make a distinct difference in the quality of a mealtime experience. Other ideas include:
- Provide weighted utensils and adaptive grips to help residents eat more effectively and independently.
- Offer sensory-rich foods tailored to individual chewing, swallowing, or digestive needs. This is another example of how to incorporate person-centered care into your menu!
- Train staff to provide gentle, reassuring touch if needed during meals.
- Finger Foods for those residents unable to utilize utensils.
Sound
Think back to the last time you were in a busy fast-food restaurant. There’s shouting from the kitchen, a constant clang of pots and pans, and loud background music. Overstimulating, much? While this may work for that environment, it doesn’t work for memory care communities. Residents with dementia benefit from a peaceful atmosphere where they can focus on what they’re eating and have meaningful conversations with others. It also helps them feel less anxious and stressed, increasing confidence to communicate their needs and wants during mealtime. Some examples of how to implement this are:
- Using calming music or low brown noise to mask kitchen sounds
- Volume-appropriate, even speaking voices
- Checking in with residents to see if they are comfortable with the sound level as they eat
Visuals
Just like sound can make or break a resident’s stress levels during mealtime, so can the visual stimuli in the environment. Avoid using bright colors or intense prints, and have large-printed menus, pictures of menu options, and high-contrast tableware. Don’t be afraid to have fun with decorations; make sure they aren’t overstimulating. Natural light is the best way to stimulate the mind and make the room for open and pleasant. It enhances vision, decreases depression and aggressive behavior, and helps to level out sleeping patterns.
Taste
Last but not least, taste is central to creating a dementia-friendly eating space. Our Empower Finger Foods program is one way we incorporate thoughtful considerations into our food service management plans, extending dining inclusivity to residents with memory impairments. Strategies like offering finger foods, person-centered specific menu planning, and regular feedback check-ins help increase independence for residents with dementia by giving them the freedom of choice and a space to have their voices heard.
You can also do the following to use taste to enhance mealtime experience:
- Serve flavorful, nutrient-rich foods tailored to individual preferences
- Involve residents in taste-testing to refine menu options
- Offer comforting treats like homemade cookies or ice cream (and a cooking or baking class for residents to help create these tasty treats)
- Mix textures and temperatures to keep meals engaging
Defining Dining in Memory Care with Culinary Services Group
At Culinary Services Group, we know how vital it is to ensure all residents thrive during mealtime. If you think benefits like our Empower program would be an asset to your long-term care community, our team is ready to tell you more about our other programs geared toward improving nutrition in senior living. Contact us here!
