Over the past 10 months, the staff at St. John’s Living Center in Jackson, Wyoming has been improving dining service, rewritten standards, and achieved positive results, under the direction and coaching of their dining committee and Sarah Graham, Staff Development RN and Kind Dining®(KD) Instructor.

Here are the highlights of what they’ve accomplished;

1. Better communication and teamwork between departments. “We Work TOGETHER!”
2. Residents choose and enjoy eating more hot meals vs sandwiches as sample plates are presented prior to taking orders.
3. Intake has increased with folks on a puree diet with improved plate appearance of the food.
4. Due to the overwhelming popularity, they have increased our made to order pancake/waffle and omelet breakfast bar to once a week.
5. Community leadership and managers are actively involved in the dining rooms.
6. Our quality of meals score increased 13% and our quality of dining increased 9% since we began Kind Dining®. Both are well above our peer averages.

I am so proud to be working with Sarah and her team as they continue to strive for higher standards. She writes;

Of course, we still have room for improvement, but these are good, measurable results as we continue along our KD journey.

—Sarah Graham; Staff Development RN and Kind Dining® Instructor.