Healthcare Foodservice Expands Beyond Patient Dining

When you think of foodservice in a hospital, you might instantly envision preplanned meals delivered on trays to patient rooms. While healthcare reimbursements and patient satisfaction scores dominate the attention of healthcare foodservice directors, hospital foodservice is becoming so much more.

Beyond the Hospital Room

According to a 2013 healthcare census, 59% of hospitals serve more retail meals than patient meals. Over the past two years, 65% of those reported an average of 19% increase in retail transactions.

“Hospitals are often the biggest restaurants in town,” says Diane Imrie, Director of Nutrition at Fletcher Allen Health Care.

“Only 20% of our 5,000 meals each day are served to patients. Our customers are mostly the doctors and staff that work here and don’t have time to leave the campus for meals.”

5 Ways to Keep Staff and Visitors On-Site

Keeping staff and visitors on-site not only maximizes the retail meal revenue, but also improves the staff work efficiency by eliminating quick, stressful off-site meals. Here are some tips to consider:

Affordable Equipment for Quick Expansion of Food Options

When expanding the cafeteria is not an option, maximizing the usage of available space is. Comfortable work environment improves employee efficiency, attitude and likelihood of providing a better patient care. Adding Kiosks, Vending Carts and Salad Bars with customized displays in the cafeteria and hallways are cost effective ways to improve employee and visitor comfort. A quick Grab n’ Go style meal is ideal for doctors, nurses and even visitors on the go, if the offerings are desirable. A quick survey of staff would help identify which items would be most in demand.

This new revenue stream can help support the cost of a healthier patient meal program, which should lead to enhanced patient satisfaction scores.

For more ideas on addressing the entire spectrum of healthcare foodservice needs, contact a Cambro healthcare specialist. Click here to find your rep!