July 26—Local hospitals in Fort Wayne, Ind., are moving away from the stereotypical hospital dinner platter of some form of pot roast mystery meat, lumpy mashed potatoes, green beans toward a model that is making the hospitals more like restaurants in the eyes of local residents.
One major benefit to treating a hospital cafeteria more as a restaurant and less as a factory is the specialization factor. At Dupont Hospital, when a patient calls for room service, the food preparation employees see who’s calling, and they see the patient’s dietary restrictions, says Jeff Kolkman, nutritional services specialist at Dupont Hospital. This makes it easier for a patient to get the appropriate food for his or her condition.