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It is always difficult when there is a loved one receiving hospice and palliative care. The hospice staff is specially trained to assist the family members make the client as comfortable as possible.
During my time working in hospice care, I learned to be creative in attempting to meet the nutritional needs and desires of the clients. In many cases, the interventions were not traditional. However, for the client, the interventions made them happy. Ice cream and candy bars such as peanut butter cups may not seem like the most nutritious food, but it does provide calories, protein, and fat. Often the client would drink more than eat.
This was the beginning of the beverage recipes in our book, Flavorful Fortified Food - Recipes to Enrich Life. The recipes allowed for a lot of variety for the individual who had previously been limited to a very small variety of products and flavors. While the beverage recipes did not reverse their terminal status, in some cases, intake improved enough to keep pressure areas from getting worse and helped with pain management. In other cases, the beverages kept the client better hydrated during those final months, weeks, or days of life.
Yes, there is a positive role the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist can play in hospice and palliative care. Start using the recipes in Flavorful Fortified Food - Recipes to Enrich Life with clients and family members to enrich their life.
During my time working in hospice care, I learned to be creative in attempting to meet the nutritional needs and desires of the clients. In many cases, the interventions were not traditional. However, for the client, the interventions made them happy. Ice cream and candy bars such as peanut butter cups may not seem like the most nutritious food, but it does provide calories, protein, and fat. Often the client would drink more than eat.
This was the beginning of the beverage recipes in our book, Flavorful Fortified Food - Recipes to Enrich Life. The recipes allowed for a lot of variety for the individual who had previously been limited to a very small variety of products and flavors. While the beverage recipes did not reverse their terminal status, in some cases, intake improved enough to keep pressure areas from getting worse and helped with pain management. In other cases, the beverages kept the client better hydrated during those final months, weeks, or days of life.
Yes, there is a positive role the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist can play in hospice and palliative care. Start using the recipes in Flavorful Fortified Food - Recipes to Enrich Life with clients and family members to enrich their life.
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