Hospital food gets a makeover

Have you ever sat in a hospital bed craving pizza for breakfast, or maybe pancakes and fresh fruit for dinner?

Well, hotel-style room service will soon be available at Sutter Medical Center in Santa Rosa and later this year at Sutter's replacement facility, which is under construction on Mark West Springs Road.

The new food service is part of Sutter's effort to recast itself as Sonoma County's premier health care provider. The hospital giant is scheduled to open its new state-of-the-art, all-private-room hospital later this year.

Implemented by Sodexo, a French multinational food services and facilities management company, the food service will replace the hospital's existing tray line service and be available to all patients.

"Every patient will be offered the same menu choices," said Michael Coyle, senior brand manager of Sodexo. "With this change, we're going to put in a program that is equal to or better than a hotel room service program."

Sutter recently hired Todd McNeive, formerly the sous chef for Oliver's Markets, to help come up with ideal menu items for a hospital setting, keeping in mind what sick patients are likely to want most as they recover their strength and health.

"The menu is based on comfort food, as well as local seasonal products, vegetables, fruits," Coyle said. "We want it to be fresh, and we want it to be local."

Under the traditional tray-line model, most patients get the same hospital food at the same time, whether they want it or not. As a result, some patients will chose not to eat their food. Some patients may even have family members bring food from home.

Coyle said that hospitals that have implemented a room-service model usually see a "consumption rate" of between 90 and 95 percent. Under the old model, consumption rates can be as low as 85 percent, depending what's being served, he said.

"They may not want to have applesauce, but it's on the tray. They may not want milk, but it's on the tray," Coyle said. "When the patient is ordering what they want to eat, they will probably be eating it."

A typical hospital menu might contain turkey, Swedish meatballs and a variety of chicken dishes, Coyle said. The new menu will contain such things as a pasta bar with specialized pastas and sauce choices, Asian stir fries and made-to-order sandwiches.

The menu also will offer food that's cooked healthier. For example, French fries will be prepared on a special nonstick grill and the fryer will be eliminated all together.

Sutter isn't the only one moving away from a tray-line service.

Kaiser Permanente officials say they'll be introducing a menu-style meal system at the Santa Rosa hospital by mid-year.

What's more, Kaiser says it now offers an "anytime snack menu" in the hospital; a weekly farmers market on campus for members, staff and visitors in the summer and fall; and tea served in china cups and saucers, as well as healthy food choices in its cafeteria, including those lower in fat or with reduced sodium.

"This change reflects our commitment to patient and family-centered care and service to promote the health and well-being of our patients," Kaiser spokesman David Ebright said.

At Santa Rosa Memorial and Petaluma Valley hospitals, both operated by St. Joseph Health-Sonoma County, staff members try to provide meals on demand whenever a request is made. It's not hotel-style room service, but the hospital nutrition staff attempts to tailor meals in a way that complies with a patient's dietary needs.

"Any time between the hours of 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily, a patient at Memorial or Petaluma Valley can ask his or her nurse for a meal or snack, and our nutrition services team will do their best to accommodate the patient's preferences," St. Joseph spokeswoman Katy Hillenmeyer said.

Sutter executive Lisa Amador, who is directing the hospital's project for nutrition services, said the move to hotel-style room service is part of the general medical trend toward "patient-centered" care, as opposed to the traditional physician-centered model.

Under the old model, she said, "a patient checks in and is really at the mercy of the caregiver. This is giving power to the patient to live their lives and eat when they want to eat."

Sutter currently is modifying its kitchen processes at the old hospital campus on Chanate Road.

The new campus, which will be called Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, has a kitchen that was designed to implement the restaurant-style model. The new hospital also will feature a restaurant called Mountain View Bistro.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com.