Soft Diets

There have been a number of nursing home residents who have choked and been injured or died as a result of the failure of the nursing home and its staff to follow orders to provide the resident with a soft diet or mechanical soft diet.  These diets are intended for residents who are unable for various reasons to consume certain difficult to chew and swallow foods.  For a more detailed description of soft diets, please see http://www.gicare.com/pated/edtgs35.htm.  Often, the reason that the diet is not followed is that there are insufficient staff or staff who are not adequately trained to meet resident needs.