Family Style Dining Program Enhances Resident Development
Family-Style Dining at Totally Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Provides “Regular Mealtime Atmosphere” for Subacute Patients
Gain Increased Independence, and Learn Appropriate Mealtime Behavior
(LOMA LINDA, Calif. – July 26, 2018) —Totally Kids Rehabilitation Hospital has introduced a new family-style dining program that allows children in its subacute unit to participate in a regular mealtime atmosphere and communion with family, staff and other residents.
The pediatric subacute unit at Totally Kids offers respite, long-term care and rehabilitation care for children from newborn to age 21. Most of these patients have experienced catastrophic illnesses or injuries and are dependent on some form of technology. They may have neurologic injuries, congenital birth deficiencies, cardiac or respiratory illness, seizure disorders, or premature birth complications.
“The goal of family-style dining is to integrate typical mealtime interactions between residents while introducing different foods and flavors,” said Pauline Hennessey, vice president of child development/education and rehabilitation services at Totally Kids. “Therapy and child-life development work together to introduce multiple flavors and textures of food to stimulate sensory development, increase independence with self-feeding, and promote safe swallowing. We also encourage social, speech, language and motor development with the use of modeling and interaction between the children and caregivers.”
The family-style dining program was developed by Totally Kids’ speech therapists Hailey Meek and Christina Wetzler and is run by Child Development Coordinator Kris Million. As part of the program, patients are encouraged to participate in self-feeding to promote autonomy and independence while issues such as oral aversion, refusal of textures and flavors, and inappropriate mealtime behavior are addressed. The collaboration with families is used to introduce relevant food items that the families can cook at home once the children is discharged. The caregivers, therapists and family are encouraged to bring their own meals to model appropriate feeding behavior.
“There has been great success with increased acceptance with feeding, mealtime routines, independence with self-feeding and social interaction with the introduction of this program at our facility,” says Hennessey. “And, of course, a program such as this is totally consistent with our highly personalized approach that allows each child to attain his or her greatest promise and highest possible level of independence – physically, mentally and socially.”
Serving children and their families for nearly 50 years, Totally Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is widely regarded as a national leader in providing personalized rehabilitation and habilitation services for children with a family-centered emphasis. Totally Kids offers a full array of resources for children who are recovering from physical trauma or surgery, or have suffered catastrophic illness, and those dependent on technology through a portfolio of acclaimed programs and services that includes acute pediatric rehabilitation (both inpatient and outpatient services), subacute, pediatric day health and residential intermediate care.
