Sept. 29—Health Care Without Harm has announced the winners of its first Annual Sustainable Food Awards. According to the organization, the awards recognize significant achievement as well as leadership in healthcare foodservice, and are intended to spur competition to achieve measurable, lasting results; to encourage continuous improvement, with an emphasis on quantitative versus qualitative results; and to increase benchmarking progress in sustainable operations in healthcare foodservice. The awards will be presented at the 2011 FoodMed conference in Seattle, Oct. 18-19.
The winners are:
Sustainable Food Procurement Award: The Sustainable Food Procurement Award recognizes up to three leading facilities that, through their food purchasing decisions, promoted health by providing sustainable food choices for patients, staff and the community.
First place: Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, Vt.
Second Place: United General Hospital, Sedro Woolley, Wash.
Third Place: John Muir Medical Center, Concord, Calif.
Public Policy & Advocacy Award: The Public Policy & Advocacy Award recognizes up to three leading facilities that have expressed their support for a healthy food system through their endorsement for and education and advocacy on public policy.
First Place: Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, Vt.
Second Place: Sparrow Hospital, Lansing, Mich.
Third Place: Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Ore.
Food Climate Health Connection Award: The Food Climate Health Connection Award recognizes up to three leading facilities that are taking significnat steps toward reducing their climate footprint.
First Place: Carroll Hospital, Westminster, Md.
Second Place: John Muir Medical Center, Concord, Calif.
Third Place: Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Ore.
Clinical Engagement Award: The Clinical Engagement Award recognizes up to three leading health professionals for making the critical link between the industrialized food system and public health. The award encourages innovative program development and educational outreach.
First Place: Lisa McDowell, St. Joseph Mercy Health System, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Second Place: Tim Goltz, MD, Lincoln County Healthcare, Damariscotta, Maine
Third Place: Amy Collins, MD, MetroWest Medical Center, Framingham and Natick, Mass.
To be eligible for the awards, a hospital must sign the HCWH Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge or meet minimum eligibility requirements. Hospitals completed the HFHC Survey, from which facilities and individuals who meet the award criteria are selected.
“We’re honored to receive this award from Health Care Without Harm, which along with other great partners in Vermont and beyond has helped us create a model food service that supports our mission to provide the highest quality of care and to be responsible stewards of the environment,” Diane Imrie, director of nutrition services for Fletcher Allen Health Care, said in a press release. The facility won two first-place awards. “Transforming our program has been an exciting and rewarding journey for Fletcher Allen, and this recognition will serve to encourage our efforts to assist other institutions that want to follow the same path.”
The foodservice department at Fletcher Allen has a strong sustainability initiative, including purchasing local foods—70% of all meats are from local sources—recycling and planting several gardens on campus from which the department uses the bounty in patient and retail meals.