“What are we doing? He would never want to live like this!”
For patients with advanced dementia, consider recommending feeding for comfort rather than medicalized nutrition. This means:
- Choosing foods that the patient responds to with pleasure
- Stopping feeding when disinterest develops
- Not setting calorie goals
- Not using nutritional shakes
- Allowing meals to be skipped when there is no interest in food
It means focusing on the social aspects of mealtime:
- Making conversation and eye contact
- Creating a pleasant space for eating
- Slowing down
View our Guide for Providing Comfort Feeding in Advanced Dementia, a hand-out for families and caregivers at facilities.
For more information contact Dr. Leslie Estep or Dr. Anita Meyer at Hospice of the Northwest, 360-814-5550, or lestep@hospicenw.org or ameyer@hospicenw.org
All Palliative Pearls and other resources can be found by clicking Healthcare Professionals at the top of our website.
If you would prefer not to receive monthly Palliative Pearls, please email pputney@hospicenw.org.