Answer:
Immediately recognize this as a potential sign of choking and assist.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a resident grabs their throat and cannot speak during mealtime, the nurse aide should immediately recognize this as a potential sign of choking and take immediate action to assist the resident. The nurse aide should follow the facility's established emergency protocols for choking incidents, which may include the following steps:
Stay calm and reassure the resident to keep them calm as well.
Encourage the resident to cough forcefully to try and clear the blockage.
If coughing is ineffective, the nurse aide should call for help or activate the facility's emergency response system.
Begin abdominal thrusts (also known as the Heimlich maneuver) by standing behind the resident, placing arms around their waist, making a fist with one hand, and placing the thumb side against the middle of the resident's abdomen above the navel. The nurse aide should then grasp the fist with the other hand and perform quick, inward, and upward thrusts to attempt to dislodge the obstruction.
If the resident becomes unresponsive or the obstruction cannot be cleared, the nurse aide should start CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and continue until help arrives.