Hospital Revs Menu to Boost Patient Experience

Executives at John Muir Health in California hope the addition of more nutritious, seasonal, and culturally diverse entree choices will improve patients' health beyond their stay.

Traditionally, the mere mention of hospital food is sure to make anyone turn up their nose. For me, the thought conjures memories from years ago—of an orderly giving me an apologetic smile as he unveiled bland, soggy food from beneath a taupe-colored plastic dome.

But, thankfully, a growing number of hospitals and health systems are beginning to make the connection between the quality of the food they serve and the patient experience. Many are revamping their menus, creating healthier, more diverse, and tastier food options for patients.

John Muir Health, a two-hospital system in California, has been one of the organizations leading the charge in reimagining—and, perhaps, rebranding—the image of hospital food.

"John Muir Health's nutrition department has been changing and updating menus on an ongoing basis over the years as we receive feedback from our patients and as new products become available," says Sandi Rigney, director of nutritional services for the health system. "One of our most popular entrees, which we have continued to keep on the menu year after year, is our fresh seasonal fruit plate."

The health system has removed most of its beef entrees from the menu, adding more fish, vegetarian, child-friendly, and culturally diverse entree choices in their place.

Local, fresh, seasonal produce and sustainable fish are always on the menu and JMH is gradually changing to hormone- and antibiotic-free meats.

It uses organic/cage-free eggs, free-range chicken, hormone-free/nitrate-free chicken sausage, BST-free milk, and organic yogurt. JMH has also added a number of gluten-free and lactose-free recipes for those with food allergies or sensitivities.

In addition to making food healthier and taste better, the menus are created with special attention to the comfort of patients.

"Most soup recipes are thickened with vegetables instead of a commercial cornstarch thickening to improve flavor and nutrients for individuals with swallowing difficulties," says Debbie Stevens, lead clinical dietician. "We feature more sustainable choices and have increased the amount of whole grains and vegetarian choices."

The health system has signed the Health Care Without Harm healthy food pledge, which asks hospitals to promise to improve their food offerings by using local produce and meats, eliminating fast-food options, and limiting vending machines. So far more than 500 organizations have signed the pledge, U.S. News reports.

John Muir Health spreads the word about its ever-improving menu to patients and the community by promoting featured meals that are local and sustainable in its cafes and in patient menus. The menus have received positive local media coverage and news is spreading fast via word-of-mouth on social media sites such as Facebook and Yelp, Stevens says.

The healthy, seasonal choices are most popular with patients. Additionally, the menus are improving the patient experience and act as a differentiator for the health system in the community.

"We do patient surveys and they comment that they are surprised that hospital food is comparable to restaurant quality," Stevens says. "Offering a more health-conscious menu provides the community with a positive image of our medical centers and sets an example of how nutrition can make a difference in preventing chronic diseases."

Though most John Muir patients are only hospitalized three days on average, hospital leadership hopes the nutritious, tasty foods they eat in the hospital will improve their health beyond their stay.

"By offering and featuring these items we like to encourage our patients to continue to make healthy choices when they return home," Stevens says. "Patients comment on how much they appreciate the variety of healthy options. Nutrition education is also an integral part of lifestyle changes to improve health."