Food and candy... how do we ask well meaning visitors to NOT bring food in?

How about a sign along the lines of:

"Due to health and safety concerns, please bring any outside food to the nurses' station/front desk and not to resident rooms."

Aside from special diets, it seems food in rooms would eventually attract bugs!

Funny that people are not aware of this. When I took food in, it was left at the Nurses desk as a Thank you. At her AL, in the lunch room for the staff. I never thought of dropping it off in peoples rooms. There was a resident at Moms AL that loved cookies. I asked if it was OK to bring him some.

I like the sign idea. My question is, why didn't Administration do this when the problem started. This should not be staffs responsibility. It should be part of the rules. It should be in the packets given to families of residents.

Could you place [big] signs on all entry doors with the suggestions that you have written here and asking that food not be brought in? I would say something like BECAUSE WE LOVE OUR RESIDENTS, WE ARE ASKING.........

Why not have them leave the food at the nurses station or with the front desk? The thing about sending notices is, you won’t have the addresses of every visitor so I think the best approach is to accept all food graciously and have the kitchen staff monitor who gets it.

I see the needs to protect some residents so folks shouldn’t feed others but ..I also see that food is a celebratory thing ..and saying no food from anything other than manufactered stuff is prohibited is not the answer. Remember to your residents this is their “home” and they should be permitted to enjoy the holdays as much as anyone. My mother was in some facilities where the food left much to be desired so bringing her “treats” meant a lot to her. She needed to watch salt but was actually losing weight and needed to eat more. So perhaps a sign indicating that shouldn’t share food without permission but as far as own family member just be aware of any restrictions. Also...it isn’t that “hippy” prevents putting signs up that someone has a dietary restriction ..you can do thigns for safety. Such as fall risk signs. Also, as long as you have permission from resident or their medical poa you can post exact information as to what they can’t be allowed. Too many medical facilities just use the blanket privacy issues instead of being proactive. Interesting also because the main purpose of that law was to make people’s medical information more available when they need care and that has become even more difficult with hospital and labs not coordinating computer information with doctor offices.
These people in your care don’t have much to enjoy in what remains of their life ..taking away all homemade foods would be a sad thing.

A standing order on most charts is one holiday meal a month! They didn't get to be this old to have the best parts of life stolen! Of course a resident on a feeding tube can't eat cookies and those should be collected but, in general the treats are for the residents. 20 years in geriatric nursing 180 bed facility and cannot recall one episode of food allergy reaction or diabetic commas. The biggest problem was keeping a roommate from eating ALL of the other roommates cookies/candies.

Put a sign on the door coming into the facility.

As you know, food has always, throughout many cultures, been associated with love and caring for others. So please acknowledge the spirit with which it is given. Perhaps you might send out, or post (or both) a newsletter welcoming such gestures, and at the same time attempting to steer the giving along the lines of those things you suggested. Thankfully our food industry seems to be catching on that there are alternatives to mainstream sugary foods, and they are becoming more sensitive to dietary needs. If you do a little research, you might mention specific brands of sugarless candies or holiday goodies in your newsletter, so those who love to offer food items, might bring a more suitable fare. Good luck to you in communicating and advocating for those you serve! Happy Holidays!

Put the notice on the entrance door to the facility. If you know of any groups who will definitely be coming phone them and advise them in advance that this year you need to change your policy. I am a little concerned that you have people visiting residents who don't know what the requirements of the resident they are visiting are - I presume they are not wandering around dropping in on residents willy nilly that would certainly be an invasion of privacy and poor safeguarding on your facility's part.

Without disclosing any confidential info, why not just put a sign on each door that says - Please check with the nurse before giving our patients any food, candy or drink....We request this to ensure all patients receive the correct diet' or something similar.