La. Admin. Code tit. 48 § I-9379

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section I-9379 - Organization and Staffing

A. Nutritional and therapeutic dietetic services shall be under the supervision of a registered dietitian, licensed to practice in Louisiana, who is employed either full time, part time or on a consulting basis. If the registered dietitian is not full time, there shall be a full time dietary manager.

B. The dietary manager shall:

1. be a qualified dietitian; or

2. be a graduate of a dietetic technician program, correspondence program or otherwise approved by the American Dietetics Association; or

3. have successfully completed a course of study, by correspondence or classroom, which meets the eligibility requirements for certification by the Dietary Manager's Association; or

4. have successfully completed a training course at a state approved school, vocational or university, which includes course work in foods and food service, supervision, and diet therapy. Documentation of an eight-hour course of formalized instruction in diet therapy conducted by the employing facility's qualified dietitian is permissible if the course meets only the foods, food service, and supervision requirements; and

a. Exception. Hospitals with 25 or fewer beds that do not have on site food preparation for patient meals and contract for food services, another full-time employee, i.e., RN or LPN, will be allowed to carry out the responsibilities of the dietary manager. The RN or LPN shall be qualified by training and experience and employed full time.

5. not be the director of nursing.

C. The registered dietitian shall be responsible for assuring that quality nutritional and therapeutic dietetic services are provided to patients. This shall be accomplished by providing and supervising the nutritional aspects of patient care including nutritional screening, nutritional assessments of patients at nutritional risk, patient education related to nutritional intake and diet therapy, and recording information in the medical record regarding the nutritional status and care of the patient and the patient's response to the therapeutic diet.

D. The hospital shall employ sufficient support personnel, competent in their respective duties, to carry out the function of the dietary service adequate to meet the nutritional and therapeutic dietetic needs of the patients in accordance with the prescribed plan of care.

E. For hospitals that provide dietary services in accordance with §9377 above, a registered dietician shall be employed or under contract to assure proper dietary services are being provided in accordance with §9379 B

La. Admin. Code tit. 48, § I-9379

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of the Secretary, Bureau of Health Services Financing LR 21:177 (February 1995), amended LR 29:2413 (November 2003), Amended by the Department of Health, Bureau of Health Services Financing, LR 451476 (10/1/2019), Amended by the Department of Health, Health Standards Section, LR 501485 (10/1/2024).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S.36:254 and R.S. 40:2100-2115.