Hi Jill,

We have a feeder program here which is hugely helpful to our staff, especially in the mornings when they're trying to get patients up and ready for therapy. We typically have another experienced feeder do the training, and both vols sign off on the  training sheet. Once someone has been feeding for 3 months they're eligible to be trained to feed those with open airways. That training has to be done by a nurse. Both documents are attached here. Let me know if you have any questions.

-Alex

Jackie,

The feeders are typically here 60-90 minutes. It all depends on how many patients need help and how chatty they are. We usually have 2-3 vols per shift covering two units, and sometimes they check on a third one if they have time. It's not unusual to have 5 patients on a unit who need help, whether it's just setups (opening milk, cutting pancakes, and other tasks that require dexterity the patient doesn't have) or full feeding.

-Alex