New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Chapter V - Medical Facilities
Subchapter A - Medical Facilities-minimum Standards
Article 9 - Residential Health Care Facility Uniform Reporting
Part 455 - Functional Reporting Centers
Section 455.11 - Patient food service

(a) This functional reporting center must contain all the expenses associated with the procurement, storage, processing and delivery of food and nourishments to the floors and dining facilities in compliance with public health regulations and physicians' orders. This would include the material costs relative to tube feeding of a high protein diet. Additional activities include but are not limited to the following: teaching patients and their families about nutrition and modified diet requirements; determining patient food preferences in terms of type of food and method of preparation; preparing selective menus for various specific diet requirements; preparing or recommending a diet manual, approved by the medical staff, for use by physicians and nurses; and delivering and collecting food trays to the floors and dining facilities for meals and nourishments.

(b) Where this center and the Cafeteria functional reporting center share kitchen facilities with corresponding common salaries of cooks, food costs, minor equipment costs, administrative costs, etc., such common costs must be entirely distributed (preferably on a monthly basis) to the Patient Food Service and Cafeteria functional reporting centers, based on the ratio of number of meals served in each area. Note that such distribution must be performed and is not subject to the reclassification criteria detailed in section 454.2(b) of this Article. The patient meal count should be made by counting one meal for each tray sent to a patient at mealtime. Nourishments should be excluded. For a meal count, tube feedings will be counted as three meals for each day so fed. An equivalent meal count should be made in the cafeteria by use of the following procedures: count a free meal served as a full meal. A full meal consists of meat, potato, vegetable, salad, beverage and dessert. When there is a selection of entrees, desserts, etc., at different prices, use an average in calculating the selling price of a full meal. An equivalent meal in a pay cafeteria is determined by dividing total sales by the average selling price of a full meal served at noon.

(c) Standard unit of measure: dietary meals served. Number of meals served shall include only regularly scheduled meals and exclude snacks and fruit juices served between regularly scheduled meals. For a meal count, tube feedings will be counted as three meals for each day as fed.

(d) Data source. The number of meals served shall be determined from an actual count maintained by the dietary and nursing departments.