HospitalInspections.org

Based on review of hospital documents and staff interviews, the hospital failed to ensure that the nutritional needs of the patients were met. This failure is evidenced by its inadequate analysis of the nutrients in its menus.

Finding:

Review of the nutrient analysis of the hospital menus indicated that the hospital had analyzed the amount and types of nutrients in the various diets. However, there was no evaluation on the adequacy of the nutrients against the needs of the population served by the hospital.

In an interview with the hospital's chief clinical dietitian on 06/04/13 at approximately 2:00 p.m., she stated the population served by the hospital was mainly the 49 year old male. The nutrient analysis completed by the hospital had not compared the daily recommended intake (DRI) of the target population against the amount provided by the hospital's menus.

Review of the hospital's diet manual did not show the hospital describing its regular or vegetarian diets for example as adequate. Under the title,
"adequacy" the manual states the "the regular diet can meet nutritional needs depending on individual choice." For the vegetarian diet, the manual states "appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful and nutritionally adequate."