Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - September/October 2024 - 12

1 HR
CE
CBDM APPROVED
NUTRITION C ONNECTION
REVISITING THE
RAI PROCESS FOR
NUTRITION
BY BRENDA RICHARDSON, MA, RDN, LD, FAND
FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS working in longterm
care (LTC), it is important to understand the Resident
Assessment Instrument (RAI) process. Nutrition is embedded
throughout this process, and it is vital to know how to
address nutrition for success with quality, regulatory, and
financial outcomes.
This article is based on the draft Minimum Data Set (MDS)
3.0 Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) Manual released
in June 2024 with revisions that become effective October 1,
2024. The manual has more than 900 pages. This article will
review important basics of the process to explain how the
components work together.
OVERVIEW OF THE RESIDENT
ASSESSMENT PROCESS
The RAI helps nursing home staff gather definitive
information on a resident's strengths and needs, which must
be addressed in an individualized care plan. It also assists
staff with evaluating goal achievement and revising care
plans accordingly by enabling the nursing home to track
changes in the resident's status. As the process of problem
identification is integrated with sound clinical interventions,
the care plan becomes each resident's unique path toward
achieving or maintaining their highest practical level of
well-being.
The RAI helps the staff look at residents holistically-as
individuals for whom quality of life and quality of care
are mutually significant and necessary. Interdisciplinary
use of the RAI promotes this emphasis on quality of care
and quality of life. Involving disciplines such as dietary,
social work, physical therapy, occupational therapy,
speech-language pathology, pharmacy, and activities/
recreational therapy in the RAI process has fostered a more
holistic approach to resident care and strengthens team
communication. This interdisciplinary process also helps to
support the spheres of influence on the resident's experience
of care, including workplace practices, the nursing home's
cultural and physical environment, staff satisfaction,
clinical and care practice delivery, shared leadership, family
and community relationships, and federal/state/local
government regulations.
It is important to read the RAI Manual, as it is the primary
source of information for completing an MDS assessment,
and using it correctly increases the accuracy of assessments.
Be sure to understand and apply information in Chapter 3
for proper MDS coding, and be familiar with Chapters 1, 2, 4,
5, as these chapters provide the framework and supporting
information for data collected on the item set as well as
the process for further assessment and care planning,
submitting and modifying assessments, and information on
12 NUTRITION & F OOD SER VICE EDGE | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2024
Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - September/October 2024

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