Dining Assistant Training Research & Regulations

Research on Trained Dining Assistants and Related Programs 

 

  • Simmons SF, Hollingsworth EK, Long EA, Liu X, Shotwell MS, Keeler E, & Silver H. (2017) Training nonnursing staff to assist with nutritional care delivery in nursing homes: A cost-effectiveness analysis. J Am Geriatr Soc. 65(2): 313-322. doi:10.1111/jgs.14488.
  • Hollingsworth EK, Long EA, & Simmons SF. (2016). Comparison between quality of care provided by Trained Feeding Assistants and Certified Nursing Assistants during between-meal supplementation in long-term care settings. J Appl Gerontol. doi: 10.1177/0733464816669806.
  • Simmons SF, Bertrand R, Shier V, Sweetland R, Moore TJ, Hurd DT, & Schnelle JF. (2007). A preliminary evaluation of paid feeding assistant regulation: Impact on feeding assistance care process quality in nursing homes. Gerontologist. 47(2) 184-192. PMID: 17440123
  • Bertrand RM, Porchak TL, Moore TJ, Hurd DT, Shier V, Sweetland R, & Simmons SF. (2011). The nursing home dining assistant program: A demonstration project. J Gerontol Nurs. 37(2): 34-43. doi: 10.3928/00989134-20100730-04

History of Trained Dining Assistant Regulations

 

In 2003, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a Federal Register notice allowing long-term care facilities to use Dining Assistants (referred to in the federal regulation as paid feeding assistant) to augment the services of certified nursing assistants (CNAs/CNTs) for feeding assistance care. The federal legislation had two immediate goals:

  • Increase the number of staff available to assist with feeding during mealtimes.
  • Provide a set of minimum training and supervision standards for such programs.

In addition to the federal regulation, each state could opt to either allow or not allow such programs in long-term care facilities within each state and publish their own state-level requirements for Dining Assistant programs. As of 2011, all but three states had passed state-level legislation allowing such programs within each state; most state requirements go beyond those mandated under the federal regulation. These federal and state regulations are fundamental to a successful Dining Assistant program because they provide a minimum set of compliance standards for facilities.

Since the publication of the Federal Register, CMS and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) jointly sponsored two studies to evaluate the impact of the regulation on feeding assistance care quality in a sample of facilities that had active programs in place. The results of these two studies have been published and can be reviewed through the PubMed links above.

To date, Dining Assistant programs have expanded to include the use of trained staff both during mealtimes as well as between meals to assist with the delivery of additional snacks and supplements for residents who are at nutritional risk. The Center for Quality Aging's Dining Assistant Training module provides long-term care providers with the education and staff training tools necessary to facilitate their goals of establishing a robust and sustainable Dining Assistant program.