Helping a resident eat is skilled work, and the health service standards treat it that way. Unregulated health care providers, such as health care aides, and volunteers who assist with eating need training in nutrition and hydration assistance, including choking prevention and response, within six months of starting and every two years after. This service runs that training at your home and leaves you a register of who completed it and when.
- In type A and type B homes, unregulated health care providers and volunteers who assist with eating are trained within six months of hire and every two years after.
- The training covers nutrition and hydration assistance techniques, and choking prevention and response.
- You receive the session, handouts and a completion register showing when each person is next due.
What the standards ask
Health service standard 9.2 asks operators to have policies and procedures so that any unregulated health care provider or volunteer who assists residents with eating receives training in nutrition and hydration assistance techniques, including choking prevention and response, within six months of being hired and every two years after that. It applies to type A and type B continuing care homes.
Kitchens serving minced or puréed diets may also want menus written at each texture level.
What the session covers
- Positioning, pacing and helping a resident eat and drink safely.
- Texture-modified foods and thickened fluids: what they are and how to serve them.
- Recognising choking and what to do, and when to call for help.
- Encouraging fluids and noticing when a resident is not eating or drinking enough.
What you receive
- A session of about an hour at your home, scheduled around shifts.
- Handouts your team can keep at the point of care.
- A completion register with each person’s date and when they are next due.
Common questions
How often must care home staff be trained in eating assistance in Alberta?
Within six months of hire and every two years after, for unregulated health care providers, such as health care aides, and volunteers who assist residents with eating in type A and type B continuing care homes, under health service standard 9.2.
Does the training cover choking response?
Yes. The standard names choking prevention and response, and the session covers recognising choking and the home’s response steps. It does not replace first aid certification.
Can volunteers attend?
Yes. The standard covers volunteers who assist with eating as well as unregulated health care providers.
This training covers the topics the standard names. Keeping everyone trained, and documenting it, remains the operator’s responsibility, and the register is not a finding of compliance. The session does not replace first aid or CPR certification. The health service standards apply to type A and type B homes.