New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules
He - Department of Health and Human Services
Subtitle He-P - Former Division of Public Health Services
Chapter He-P 800 - RESIDENTIAL CARE AND HEALTH FACILITY RULES
Part He-P 802 - RULES FOR HOSPITALS
Section He-P 802.24 - Food Services

Universal Citation: NH Admin Rules He-P 802.24

Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024

(a) The licensee shall provide food services that:

(1) Meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommended dietary allowance as specified in the United States Department of Agriculture's "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020" (Eighth Edition), available as noted in Appendix A;

(2) Provide for the nutritional needs of each patient;

(3) Provide substitutions if a patient declines the items offered;

(4) Provide patients' diets that are supervised by a dietitian;

(5) Provide diets that are in accordance with the orders of patients' licensed practitioners;

(6) Include facilities and equipment for meal delivery and assisted feeding, as applicable; and

(7) Provide food and drink to the patients that is:
a. Safe for human consumption and free of spoilage or other contamination;

b. Stored, prepared, and served in a manner consistent with safe food handling practices for the prevention of food borne illnesses, including those set forth in He-P 2300;

c. Stored so as to protect it from dust, insects, rodents, overhead leakage, unnecessary handling, and all other sources of contamination; and

d. Labeled, dated, stored, and served in a manner appropriate to maintain proper food temperatures.

(b) Each patient shall be offered at least 3 meals in each 24-hour period unless contraindicated by the patient's medical condition.

(c) Snacks shall be available between meals unless contraindicated by the patient's medical condition.

(d) The licensee shall provide therapeutic diets to patients only as directed by a licensed practitioner or other professional with prescriptive authority.

(e) The use of outdated, unlabeled food, or canned goods that have damage to their hermetic seal shall be prohibited and such goods shall be immediately discarded or distinctly segregated from the usable food.

(f) All work surfaces, food services equipment, dishes, utensils, and glassware shall be in good repair, cleaned and sanitized after each use, and properly stored.

(g) Soiled linen and trash shall not be transported through food preparation areas and shall be kept in an impervious container.

(h) All hospital personnel involved in the preparing and serving of food shall wash their hands and exposed portions of their arms with liquid soap and running water before handling or serving food.

(i) Regularly scheduled training programs including sanitation and safety shall be made available to personnel. Information as to the content and length of this training shall be documented and kept in personnel records.

(j) A current therapeutic diet manual approved by the dietician and medical staff shall be readily available to all medical, nursing, and food service personnel.

(k) The licensee shall have written policies and procedures to address the following:

(1) Availability of a diet manual and therapeutic diet menus to meet patients' nutritional needs;

(2) Frequency of meals served;

(3) System for diet ordering and patient trays deliveries;

(4) Accommodation of non-routine occurrences such as parenteral nutrition, total parenteral nutrition, peripheral parenteral nutrition, change in diet orders, early and late trays, and nutritional supplements;

(5) Integration of the food and dietetic service into the licensee's QAPI and infection control programs;

(6) Guidelines for acceptable hygiene practices of food service personnel; and

(7) Guidelines for kitchen sanitation.

(l) The licensee shall have a full-time employee who:

(1) Serves as director of the food and dietetic services;

(2) Is responsible for daily management of dietary services; and

(3) Is qualified by experience or training.

(m) The licensee shall employ or contract with a qualified dietician to supervise the nutritional aspects of patient care.

(n) If the dietician does not work full-time, and when the dietician is not available, the licensee shall make adequate provisions for dietary consultation that meets the needs of the patients.

#9580, eff 10-24-09

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