Becky Dorner Blog

Nutrition screening is the process of identifying individuals who are at nutrition risk and referring those who would benefit from the nutrition care process to the registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN)1. Nutrition screening relies on tools…Read More

CMS Regulations for Nursing Homes

In the world of long-term care (LTC), registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) play a critical role in ensuring the health and well-being of residents. Responsibilities encompass a wide range of tasks, from assessing nutritional needs and…Read More

If you ask any clinical dietitian what the most challenging subject is for patients to understand and adopt, a common answer is “renal disease.” Most registered dietitian nutritionists (RDN) working in acute or post-acute care…Read More

Wilma is a 67-year-old woman who was recently diagnosed with end stage renal disease (ESRD). Wilma also has type 2 diabetes and essential hypertension. She was recently admitted to a skilled nursing facility for therapy… Read More

Rosie, aged 71, went to her physician for a follow up for management of type 2 diabetes. Routine blood work found that Rosie’s glomerular filtration rate (GFR) had declined over time to 47 mL/min/1.73 m2,… Read More

Protein Energy Wasting (or PEW) is an incredibly common issue for individuals who have been diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). When PEW goes undiagnosed or is simply not treated properly severe issues can occur…Read More

Doris is a 69 year old woman who lives in an assisted living facility and has recently had problems with “irregularity”, her polite word for constipation. She thought it was a symptom of aging, but… Read More

Critical illness such as trauma, injury, burns, wounds, pressure injuries, major surgery, or sepsis cause a stress response that can result in hypermetabolism, increased catabolism, and loss of lean body mass (LBM). This type of… Read More

Julia started a new job as the registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) at a continuing care retirement community. She noticed that the community’s assisted living and skilled nursing units each had a handful of physician orders… Read More

Ana, a registered dietitian nutritionist at a skilled nursing facility, received a consult from the facility physician for weight loss for 80-year Mabel, whose BMI is 37. Ana is new to long-term term care but… Read More

In the past couple of years, Covid has thrown the best of intentions for food service delivery and dining in post-acute care facilities into turmoil. Staffing shortages, communal dining restrictions, and food supply chain issues… Read More