Abstract
Twenty years after the passage of the 1987 Nursing Home Reform Act declaring residents living in nursing homes need a home where they can live for the rest of their lives as individuals, many of the nations' 16 500 nursing homes still function using the 3 R's-rules, routines, and requirements. The landscape, however, is slowly beginning to change where the focus of care is on the person, not the task. Culture change is about rethinking values and practices within the nursing home from top to bottom. Not as powerful a statement but it will work!! The outcome of culture change is person-centered care. Within nursing facilities there are several ways to drive culture change but few are as influential as enhancing dining services. The ability to make healthy food choices, socialize with friends, interact with attentive staff members, and enjoy a tasty meal provides a dignity unmatched by most services. Culture change is a commitment to value adaptations where the focus of care is not the task but the relationship. It reformulates what it means to grow old.