Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 48 - PUBLIC HEALTH-GENERAL
Part I - General Administration
Subpart 3 - Licensing and Certification
Chapter 98 - Nursing Facilities
Subchapter A - Physician Services
Section I-9820 - Feeding Assistants

A. Prior to assisting nursing facility residents with feeding, the assistant must have successfully completed the state-approved training course published by the American Health Care Association, Assisted Dining: The Role and Skills of Feeding Assistants.

B. Feeding assistants must be registered on the Direct Service Worker Registry (DSW) unless they are volunteers.

C. The clinical decision as to which residents are fed by a feeding assistant must be made by a registered nurse (RN) or licensed practical nurse (LPN). It must be based upon the individual nurse's assessment and the resident's latest assessment and plan of care.

D. The use of a feeding assistant must be noted on the plan of care.

E. There must be documentation to show that the residents approved to be fed by feeding assistants have no complicated feeding problems.

F. There must be documentation of on-going assessment by nursing staff to assure that any complications that develop are identified and addressed promptly.

G. A feeding assistant must work under the supervision of a RN or LPN and the resident's clinical record must contain entries made by the supervisory RN or LPN describing services provided by the feeding assistant.

H. Facilities may use feeding assistants at mealtimes or snack times, whenever the facility can provide the necessary supervision.

I. Facilities may use their existing staff to feed residents as long as each staff member successfully completes the state-approved training course.

J. Facilities must maintain a record of all individuals used as feeding assistants who have successfully completed the training course.

K. Residents have the right to refuse to be fed by a feeding assistant.