Boston Children's Hospital recently revamped its food court to serve patients, families and staff in more ways outside of clinical care, according to Mic.
Here are five highlights from the report:
1. Boston Children's food court, located in the building's basement, features locally sourced food whenever possible. It exchanged its salad bar for a "salad creations" station, where employees serve custom-made salads to reduce cross-contamination. Additionally, its meats are free of hormones and antibiotic.
2. Some recipes, such as its chicken, lemon and ginger soup, are Boston Children's own proprietary recipe developed specifically for cancer patients. Shawn Goldrick, senior director of patient support services at the hospital, told Mic that while undergoing cancer treatment, patients' ability to taste often changes. Hospital research showed citrus flavors like lemon are still enjoyable for patients, while ginger can aid with digestion.
3. Mr. Goldrick told Mic, "The challenge is, for hospitals in general, the focus is all on the clinical outcomes. The hospital's whole mission is to take care of patients — and we do so much well here in life-changing research, and that's the high-level focus." He added food is not often a revenue-driving operation for the hospital, which can add difficulties for the department.
4. Still, the recent renovations have allowed patients to learn about food and nutrition through cooking demonstrations — with retractable sneeze guards included. The Culinary Academy, held once a month, allows kids to learn from chefs and make a recipe on their own.
5. In addition to Boston Children's, Hagerstown, Md.-based Meritus Medical Center and New York City-based NYU Langone Medical Center have reimagined their food courts. Meritus Medical Center completely removed fryers from its kitchens. NYU Langone also eliminated deep fryers, hired professional chefs to bring healthier meals to the hospital, and prioritized local foods.