The health service standards bring a registered dietitian into a resident’s assessment once therapeutic nutrition and hydration needs are identified, and menu and food service questions come up between reviews. This service gives your home a set number of a registered dietitian’s hours each month, with one dietitian who gets to know your residents and your kitchen.
- In type A and type B homes, a registered dietitian is included once a resident is assessed as having therapeutic nutrition and hydration needs.
- Neither the Continuing Care Regulation nor the staffing guideline sets dietitian hours; your staffing plan sets clinical staffing to residents’ assessed needs. You choose a monthly block that fits.
- Clinical notes are written in your home’s own records. Folio holds no resident information.
What the standards ask
Under the Continuing Care Health Service Standards, a nutrition concern leads to an assessment by a regulated health professional. Where a resident has been assessed as having therapeutic nutrition and hydration needs, a registered dietitian is included in the assessment and identified as part of the resident’s interdisciplinary team, and the agreed interventions are documented in the care plan with the responsible team member named. These standards apply to type A and type B continuing care homes.
Type A menus also need a registered dietitian’s approval; the approval guide sets out the rule for each licence class.
What the hours can be used for
- Nutrition assessments and reassessments for residents your team refers.
- Care-plan entries and recommendations, written in your home’s charting system.
- Questions about therapeutic, texture-modified or allergy diets.
- Menu questions between formal reviews, and support for your food service lead.
- Joining care conferences or family meetings when nutrition is on the agenda.
Homes serving minced or puréed diets can add texture-modified versions of the cycle.
How it works
- A call to agree the monthly hours, the referral process and who your contact is.
- Visits or video sessions on a regular schedule, with urgent referrals handled between them.
- A monthly summary of hours used, without resident details.
Common questions
Does an Alberta continuing care home have to employ a dietitian?
Neither the Continuing Care Regulation nor the 2026 staffing guideline sets a number of dietitian hours. The operator’s staffing plan sets the clinical staff needed for residents’ assessed needs, the health service standards include a registered dietitian once a resident is assessed as having therapeutic nutrition and hydration needs, and type A menus are approved by a registered dietitian.
Where are the dietitian’s notes kept?
In your home’s own resident records, under your policies. Folio and NutraPlanner do not store resident information.
Can the hours be virtual?
Yes, where the work allows it. Some assessments are better done on site, and the schedule is agreed with your director of care.
This service provides a registered dietitian’s professional time under her own regulatory obligations. It does not make Folio or NutraPlanner a holder of resident records, and it is not a finding that a home meets any standard. The health service standards apply to type A and type B homes; confirm which apply to you.