Enteral Nutrition for Older Adults in Healthcare Communities

Older adults living in healthcare communities (HCCs) have multiple comorbidities and are at increased risk of malnutrition and unintended weight loss. Aging affects nearly every system as well as body composition and structure, causing physiological changes that can affect nutrition status. A significant percentage (56%) of residents who live in nursing facilities require extensive help to eat and have dental problems such as ill-fitting dentures, missing teeth, and swallowing problems, which can lead to inadequate caloric intake and unintended weight loss. Alzheimer disease or dementia is prevalent in both nursing facilities and in assisted living/residential care communities, where it affects 45% of older adults. In cognitively impaired residents, most tube feeding placements occur in the acute care setting and result in significant use of additional healthcare resources, along with high postinsertion mortality rates within 60 days of insertion. Nursing facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding must abide by state and federal regulations and undergo rigorous surveys while balancing complex decisions related to initial placement of feeding tubes. Healthcare professionals must recognize the importance of establishing nutrition treatment goals that are resident centered and that respect the unique values and personal decisions of the older adult. Informed choice, resident-centered care decisions, and the review of living wills and/or advance directives are essential in the decision-making process. After enteral nutrition is started, healthcare practitioners must carefully review the physician's orders and administer and monitor the resident's tolerance, checking for potential complications.