NKCH to Implement Standardized Dysphagia Diet
January 30, 2023By: Kim Shopper
Categories: Your Wellness
The NKCH IDDSI Team
Pictured above: back row, from left: Roger Ortiz, chef; and Sara Keiser and Lindsey Fritz, speech-language pathologists; and front row, from left: Bethany Milligan, speech-language pathologist; and Megan Kigar, Kendra Korner and Mikaela Groff, registered dietitians.
Many people need to change their diets due to difficulty chewing and/or swallowing (dysphagia) after stroke, cancer, progressive disease, injury, age, etc.
The current dysphagia diet framework, the National Dysphagia Diet (NDD), is being phased out globally and replaced with the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI). The goal is for all healthcare facilities to transition to following the same new standards. IDDSI’s purpose is to improve patient safety and eliminate confusion between patients, caretakers and healthcare professionals with clear characteristics and testing methods for modified diets.
The IDDSI implementation team has worked for over a year to prepare for the transition. Team members include clinical dietitians, speech-language pathologists and the chief medical officer along with staff from Clinical Informatics, Food and Nutrition Services and Nursing Professional Development.
More Menu Items
A new dysphagia menu will make ordering clearer and expand the variety of options for patients. In collaboration with the IDDSI team, NKCH Chef Roger Ortiz developed recipes to provide increased options for patients with dysphagia.
“We are optimistic that these improved guidelines and menu options will help support nutrition goals for our patients during hospitalization and after discharge,” explained Clinical Dietitian Kendra Korner, RDN, LD.
“Following the most up-to-date guidelines is essential as we provide excellent care for our patients with dysphagia. The goal is to reduce the risk and severity of dysphagia-related complications, and the IDDSI framework supports this goal,” explained Speech-Language Pathologist Sara Keiser, MS, CCC-SLP.
Simple Language
The IDDSI framework provides common terminology to describe food textures and drink thickness in an easy-to-read color and number chart for consistency across healthcare facilities.
The framework includes simple measurement methods on a continuum of eight levels (0 -7), where drinks are measured from Levels 0 – 4, and foods are measured from Levels 3 – 7.
The new standards also have created simple testing methods that are easy to use in the home setting to increase safety outside of a healthcare facility.
