Sneak Peek into the Personal Menu Updates Webinar
Sneak Peek into the Personal Menu Updates - July 24, 2025 (conducted by Heather Carey and Tessa Stone).
Questions and Answers from Webinar
Will this be available in both Culinary Pro and Care Pro subscriptions?
Yes, the Personal Menu enhancements will be available in both Culinary and Care Pro, with some differences due to diet order relevance.
How do you get the alert for birthdays?
The birthday icon automatically appears when a resident's birthday is set for that day.
Fun tip! You can also run a birthday report under People > Reports! Check it out here: Birthday List Report (People).
Is there a way to control what item from the Also Available (AA) menu is used as the fallback substitute?
The system uses the order of items in the Also Available menu (row 1, row 2, etc.). If you want a specific item, you must add it as a personal item or substitute.
For do not serve, is there an option to not do tomato soup all the time, except with grilled cheese?
No, the do not serve function is all or nothing for an item. You would need a second recipe for exceptions, or use item notes on the tomato soup for clarification.
Can we remove substitutions from personal menus and add items to the Also Available (AA) menu and it will pull from AA menu?
Yes, while you can use specific item substitutions on a personal menu, you could also add items to the Also Available menu, and the system will pull from there as needed for fallback substitutions. For more info on AA Menus, see About the Also Available (AA) Menu.
Can you explain how taking their order on Touch and how you see their personal menu?
When ordering through the Touch app, you'll see a "thumbs up" icon for likes and a "thumbs down" icon for dislikes, and the personal item icon for items added to the personal menu. Here are some current details on the personal menu icons: Personal Menu Legend. And here is some information on placing orders on the Touch App: Taking Orders in the Touch App.
What does it mean when some recipes from my Standard Menu aren't showing?
If items from the regular menu aren't showing on the personal menu, try showing excluded items (via the Display Options) as recipes may have been removed due to a do not serve or an allergy. Click here for more info.
How can I add more Allergies to the allergy list?
Allergen groups can be created in Tools & Setup > Allergen & Preference Groups. Check out this article for step-by-step instructions: Creating an Allergen Group.
Could we add dislikes items that are not on the list in the system?
Preference groups can be created in Tools & Setup > Allergen & Preference Groups. Check out this article for step-by-step instructions: Creating a Preference Group.
When the program changes, do we need to redo our customizations or will our current changes carry through
No! Your current customizations will remain in place. You just get to take advantage of the new efficiencies for managing or editing them!
What if we only needed the prune every other day?
When you add a personal menu item, you get to choose the day or days to serve that item, and therefore you ensure that the item is served at the right intervals. See this article for more information and instructions: Adding a Personal Menu Item.
Will any of these changes make changes to the People service reports in Touch?
The Personal Menu Enhancements will not impact the functionality of your Touch App People Reports or Core System People Reports; customizations still flow through as before.
If corn is removed from the vegetable option on a personal menu by a Do Not Serve, what will be the vegetable option that the patient would get?
The system will offer the next appropriate vegetable on the menu, or from the Also Available menu if needed. If nothing is available, it will prompt for a substitute. Click here for more information on item-selection logic.
What do the tickets look like?
Your tray menu tickets and tray card tickets will not be adjusted with this enhancement, but we'll keep you updated if future enhancements may impact them.
If a resident goes out to the hospital, their personal menu is deleted and has to be redone when they come back... is there any way to save it or put it on hold?
With EHR Connect, you can choose what happens when a person is discharged. It seems the setting may be set to "Deleted"; however this setting can be adjusted to "Archived", which will preserve a resident's information for when they return. Alternatively, using a LOA (Leave of Absence) process instead of deleting could be beneficial. See Configuring Connect Interface Settings for your options.
When will this change take place again?
The Personal Menu Enhancements are scheduled for August, keep an eye on our Newsletters for the exact date you'll see these exciting changes!