When Should Residents Be Weighed?

According to Tag F325, nursing home residents should be weighed on admission (or readmission) to establish a baseline weight, weekly for the first four weeks after admission and then at least monthly thereafter to identify and document any trends, such as insidious weight loss.¹

In order to obtain the most accurate readings, CMS recommends that staff use a consistent approach to weighing residents. This includes¹:

• Using an appropriately calibrated and functioning scale
• Weighing a resident at the same time each day (since weight can fluctuate throughout the day)
• Ensuring residents are wearing the same type/weight of clothing when weighed each day
•  Using the same scale for each weigh-in
• Making sure that residents are consistently either wearing or not wearing orthotics or prostheses when weighed

When weighing residents, keep in mind that fluctuations can be caused by factors such as current medical conditions, recent changes in dietary intake and edema.1

Reference

1 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. State Operations Manual. Appendix PP – Guidance to Surveyors for Long Term Care Facilities (Rev. 70m 01-07-11). Available at: http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/Manuals/downloads/som107ap_pp_guidelines_ltcf.pdf. Accessed June 19, 2012.