This letter from CMS explains the requirements for nursing homes and other healthcare facilities to provide sufficient staff to carry out the functions of the food and nutrition service. It requires that the staff has appropriate competencies and skills sets, and that there is sufficient support personnel to safely and effectively carry out the functions of the food and nutrition service. The letter also requires that a member of the food and nutrition services staff must participate on the interdisciplinary team. It defines “sufficient support personnel” as having enough dietary and food and nutrition staff to safely carry out all of the functions of the food and nutrition services. It also outlines the procedures that should be taken to ensure that these requirements are met, including observations and interviews of staff and residents, and determining if the staffing levels provided are based on the facility assessment. This letter will require nursing homes and other healthcare facilities to ensure that they have sufficient staff with the appropriate competencies and skills sets to carry out the functions of the food and nutrition service, as well as participate on the interdisciplinary team. They must also take the outlined procedures to ensure that these requirements are met.

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