Home > Blog Posts > Eat Your Way to Good Health: Dining in Healthcare
There is a saying that goes, ‘you are what you eat’. Hospitals and other wellness spaces are taking that literally and taking healthcare dining to the next level. Choice is the new watchword. It is the definition of what is happening in healthcare dining from the kitchen to the patient room to the cafeteria. It covers healthier food choices eaten at a varied choice of places to eat the food.
Healthy Food in Hospitals is a Gateway to Good Health
Hospital patients need nutritious food to return to good health. Hospitals are doing more to raise a patient’s appetite by providing a greater selection of healthy foods and foods that are appealing in look, aroma and taste. There is greater awareness that ‘healthy’ does taste good. Patients are more involved in their food experience, choosing meat-free, gluten-free, etc. Hospitals are seeing the results in quicker, better outcomes resulting in shorter hospital stays.
Hospital Dining Design: Creating a New Experience
A healthcare dining locale sees many types of diners and must cater to them all of a patient’s family members and guests, staff and visiting medical professionals from other facilities. The standard hospital cafeteria with row after row of metal stacking chairs and square tables are becoming less normal. Today, hospital cafeterias are designed to accommodate lounge, dining and café spaces. Taking a cue from patient and guests surveys, hospital dining design teams are creating more outdoor dining spaces that include green space and patios.
What’s Next? You are What You Eat
Hospitals are looking at ways to increase the level of fresh fruits and vegetables; while reducing food waste. Hospitals are collaborating with local food providers to make sure the produce used is grown locally to ensure it can be as fresh as possible. The community is being educated on the importance of fresh food over frozen and canned. Classes in fresh food preparation are being offered to individuals and groups in an effort to create healthier living in the communities they serve.
