I was quite inspired yesterday when I saw an article in the New York Times about healthy hospital food. Healthy hospital food? Yes, this term need not be an oxymoron.
You may want to take a look at the entire article as it is filled with detail and solutions (on a small level, though it’s a start) to our national health crisis. What health crisis? One-third of Americans are diabetic or pre-diabetic which in the coming years could cost our system billions of dollars, along with other diseases related to lifestyle.
Last week I discussed Mark Bittman’s proposed soda tax as a possible idea for dealing with this looming crisis. The response? Most comments were not in favor of such a tax. I want to thank all who left comments on the soda tax post –they were informative and I enjoyed the lively debate.
Today, I want to take a different approach by looking at examples of individuals and institutions that are changing our food landscape through innovation and new ideas.
Here’s a great example. More than two years ago, in the wake of dismal patient food ratings, New Milford Hospital revamped its food service operation. It also instituted an “aggressive healthy-food initiative.” Some of the changes included eliminating the cafeteria’s deep fryer, as well as no longer using canned or processed foods.
“The hospital’s food service rating soared,” said Marydale Debor, a former vice president of external affairs at New Milford Hospital and a co-founder of the web site Plow to Plate, a grass-roots effort to bring local food and agriculture to the hospital and the community. Ms. Debor also established the cafe’s daily Senior Suppers, which became so popular with senior citizens that a second sitting was added.
The program has its costs and the chef explains how he has dealt with increased costs:
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Buying local is expensive and labor intensive, Mr. Gold said, so he offsets the increased cost by buying less red meat and serving low-cost alternatives: protein-rich quinoa citrus salad and portobello burgers, for example. With help from community volunteers, Mr. Gold also installed a rooftop garden.
My father works at a university hospital and growing up I used to go to work with him on the weekends, so growing up I spent my fair share of time in a hospital cafeteria. I don’t recall great offerings back then, though happily, he says things have changed, “in previous decades the choices in my hospital cafeteria were limited, now, however, there is a full array of healthy food.”
So, here’s a new topic for us to chew on: hospital food. Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts on the type of program the New Milford Hospital has implemented. Do you think programs such as this can have an impact around the country? Do you have other ideas? Better ideas? Let us know!
Tracy says
This is a huge issue with me. I can really get on a soapbox about it. My son has asthma. At times his asthma flares up so badly that he ends up in the hospital. They have to give him alot of steroids. My relationship with steriods is a love hate thing but I won’t go there. Needless to say the steroids make my sons blood sugar go up and his blood pressure go up. Do you know the only items they keep up at the nurses station for snacks? Poptarts, ice cream and popscicles. That is it! It is like a high fructose corn syrup convention. Yuck! And when I won’t let him have a snack, then the nurses look at me like I’m being some sort of abusive parent. :O And everytime I turn around they are offering him soda!! Drives me crazy!
Ainnl says
I was reminded of an article I recently read (it’s from the UK, but they are facing the same problem) by a cardiologist asking how his patients were supposed to begin making the recommended changes to their diets when the hospital fed them so poorly.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/13/hospital-food-poor-nutrition
A hospital in the Netherlands recently experimented with doing away with the cafeteria and hiring a catering company. They reported that this gave them several advantages: fresher, better-tasting food; cost savings; significantly less food waste; and better patient health. Because the food was more appealing, patients were eating more (which was better for their health than skipping meals because the food was disgusting), but because it was being made as needed, less food overall was being prepared (thus lowering costs).
Personally I think that it is important that hospital food be both healthy and tasty, in order to set a good example for those who have unhealthy diets, and to not reduce the health of those who have good diets.
KellyBelly says
Hopefully the New Milford hospitals plan will start other hospitals to do the same. Similar to what Jamie Oliver and the Food Revolution is trying to do with school food.
I know this is possible, people just need to think “outside” the box!
Lynn says
In my limited experience, I think hospitals ARE improving…but I have a friend who just spent 3 weeks there (as the result of an accident) and she got into A LOT of trouble with the hospital dietitian for not eating the hospital food. She had fresh, organic foods brought to her daily. I would also like to add that she was expected to be in the hospital several months, with many complications and the doctor was astounded she was healing well and going home so quickly. He credited her speedy exit to prayer and her healthy eating.
Jami Fynboh says
Well, something needs to be done when it comes to hospital, rehab, and assisted living foods! My mother fell in May and hit her head, leaving us as a family, to spend a great deal of time in the above mentioned institutions over the past two and half months. The hopital that she was in didn’t know what in the cafeteria was gluten free, and instead handed me a paper on food alergies (I already know what I’m sensitive to, thank you very much). The rehab center did work very hard to keep my mom’s diet gluten free, and for that I am very apprecitive. However, the assisted living she is now in had to actually get an ORDER from the doctor to give her a gluten free food! Why…because the state requires it! So apparently people are no longer able to choose their own foods when living in a place where the state government is involved – how sad is that!?! As a matter of fact, when we went to shop for an assisted living that was suitable, most of them did not cater to a gluten free diet or even know what it was! So needless to say, over the past two and half months I have done a lot of cooking for my mom, daughter, and myself which created a great deal of resentment along the way. It’s so sad when “REAL FOOD” in it’s natural state is not understood, especially in the medical profession!
Thanks for the opportunity to vent…great topic!
Jami
Diane says
I love it!!!! I so wish so many others would take such an initiative. The problem is that it takes work and work and more work to investigate the farmers, convince the powers that be with the money that buying locally is worth the cost, and it takes EDUCATING the public that healthy food is not baked chips not fried. I want the schools, restaurants, hospitals, corporate cafeterias to all be on board. I’m tired of having only ONE local place that tries really hard to keep it healthy. (I live in the midwest where meat and potatoes and gravy are gourmet living!!!)
Tracee says
A hospital kitchen worker, on her own time, attended our local Celiac group meeting. She had no idea what a gluten-free diet was and nobody else at the hospital knew either. After realizing she had no idea how to help gluten-free patients, she came to the meeting to find out more. I always assumed they had some sort of dietary guidelines for special diets.
Kristina says
Even if we did surve great healthy food. We are not going to change the typical American diet in their short stay with us. If we did they would not be right back here in a week or so like they are now.
Kristina says
I cannot type on this phone. I am laughing at all the errors I see in my last post. Sorry about that.
Kristina says
Hello Everyone,
I am so frustrated by this as well. I am a hospital dietitian I want to let you know that a lot of us (not all) Are frustrated by this as well. Let just get one thing out in the open. In most cases almost all the dietitian does NOT right the emnu for the hospital, nursing home or rehab. We have to report to the dietary superviosor who runs the kitchen. Some of them are certified dietary managers and have a little nutrition knowledge but it’s not a degree and a lot of them don’t even have that. They along with the chefs or cooks make the menu’s. Really in all the places i have worked over the years as well as other RD’s I know have had little say as to what does or does not go on the menu. We are required to look at it and make sure that carbs are counted corectly, each meals has a protein source, fruit or veggie and starch etc. But as for they types of food purchased, how it’s made or where it comes from we really have NO say. They put the types of foods on the menue that most of America want’s to eat. The types of people reading these types of blogs are not they typical patients we see in the hospital. You all are few and far between so when you do show up and want different things (healther foods, the stuff i would want too) the hospital more than likely wont have it. Alleriges are another problem because yes the dietitian who is doing mainly clinical work ( tube feedings, wound healing, patient education, interveinous feedins) do know what these allergies are but the cooks and dietary aides that fix your trays and bring you your meals may not know that gluten is in more than just bread. (this is why so many mistakes). We do educate them but these postitions have high turn over and other problems at times. So please do not blame the hospital dietitian’s. A LOT of us are constantly making suggestions and trying to make changes which almost always get shot down because most of America would rather have the pancakes and bacon instead of the whole oatmeal and fresh fruit. Please believe me when we say we are just as frustrated. My boss another RD hace celiac and we have been fighting tooth and nail for a gluten free diet that consists of more than 4 different types of griled chicken salads and rice.
Valerie says
I am another RD who has worked in a hospital and now works in Nursing Home/Assisted Living facilities, and I will second this comment 100%. We do not write the menus, have very little time to spend in the kitchen or working with Foodservice managers, chefs, and diet aids, so have little influence over what is served or how the kitchen runs. We spend our time with the medical staff doing clinical work on only the highest risk nutrition cases- those on tube and vein feeding, etc.
Another point to consider- Part of the improvements in hospitals and nursing homes in patient care is giving patients what they WANT- respecting their rights and wishes more fully. And the foods they often want are not what most would consider healthy food. We don’t have the right to force healthier foods on those who don’t want them, and we can’t afford nor have the right to accept only patients who want to eat healthily. Indeed most of our patients are those who are NOT accustomed to eating healthily and are with us as a result. We might have a few minutes to spend with them on education, but we are rarely able to change a lifetime of habits with a few words shared when someone is feeling their worst and just wants to get back to home and normal life.
And we have shrinking budgets and soaring food prices to consider(especially within the past year), and try to reduce waste as much as possible. In my facilities we offer healthier options that are usually special orders, but if we just serve brown rice or whole grain pasta to everyone, instead of white, we are flooded with complaints and most of it goes in the garbage- hundreds of dollars when you feed 600 people at once.
So we are doing our best to offer healthier foods and make them more appealing and appetizing, and encourage more people to order them and educate them on the benefits, but the biggest “sellers” continue to be breaded meats, high fat potato dishes, cookies, cakes, ice creams, etc.
Steve Kruzich says
im sorry but pancakes and bacon are not necessarily bad food. I have more problem with hospitals serving swai (a nasty fish) that is farmed in the worlds worst place in indonesia. Or beef that should have been put on a compost heap instead of bleached and packaged as burger.
Stop buying food from sysco hardin, and other distributors and buy it locally. The hospitals are obscene on the prices they charge the patient so we might as well get good quality food.