WFPB and Health in Hospitals GWilkerson01/31/2015 Plant Based Nutrition
Will hospitals ever serve health promoting food? From CDC: HEALTHY HOSPITAL CHOICES A panel consisting of: Meredith Reynolds, PhD Andrea Wiseman, MPH Allison Boothe, MPH and Brook Belay, MD, MPH was tasked with identifying strategies to improve these environments for employees, patients and visitors and recommending how to incorporate these strategies into hospital community outreach efforts. The mission: to influence and reach of hospitals make them natural leaders for work-site wellness and community-wide health promotion. Modifiable risk factors for chronic disease lead to a significant number of preventable deaths in the United States. Supporting health-promoting environments in hospitals provides an ideal opportunity to advance health and prevent chronic diseases for patients, employees and visitors. Individual hospitals may serve anywhere between several hundred thousand to 1 million meals per year to employees, patients and visitors. Each meal is an opportunity to promote a healthy food choice. Improving employee health has the potential to mitigate healthcare costs, reduce absenteeism and improve worker productivity. Breastfeeding can benefit employers through reduced employee absenteeism and lower healthcare costs. Many hospitals have fast-food restaurants on their premises. A survey of 104 U.S. pediatric hospitals indicated that 89% had some form of fast-food outlet on their campuses. One positive note; Kaiser Permanente has established farmers markets at many of its locations and promotes physical activity by connecting hospital walking and biking paths to those in the community being served. From a local vegan friend in facebook: Peter Trinh – “In my hometown of Santa Barbara, CA, the hospital system there, Cottage Hospital served health promoting food that was prepared at 4
star restaurant level, and they sourced their food from the several SLO garden programs available via the farmers’ market association; the local private Westmont College; and when needed, supplemented with CSA’s. It had been nearly a decade in the making but when it went live in 2013, it rocked the boat, big time! I know that not many hospitals did this, so Cottage was applauded for their efforts.” Another facebook friend: Diana MacGillivary Bruso states: “My daughter has her degree in Nutrition, and says she could never bear to work in a hospital due to the lack of nutritious food being served. I’ve been in the hospital many times over the past few years, and have noticed a slight increase in options that are truly healthy.” St. Luke’s hospital invests in organic farm to provide health-promoting food to patients Serving mystery meat, French fries, sugar drinks and Jell-O on a tray is NO standard of care, especially for a hospital, which should be leading the way — boosting patients’ ability to heal with the most nutrient-dense foods. We may wonder why menu items don’t include snacks like selenium-rich Brazil nuts and antioxidant-rich blueberries. Why aren’t hospitals serving fresh juices, containing real apples, pears, oranges, carrot, ginger and lemon? How might a fresh herb garden spice up dinner dishes while boosting the healing benefit of the meal? How might a kale, spinach and chia-based smoothie lift energy levels of patients? What if hospitals worked directly with organic farms to provide the ill and injured with the most recuperative food, full of minerals like zinc, which helps the body heal? Six hospital campuses of St. Luke’s in Pennsylvania have teamed up with the Rodale Institute, working together to provide organic produce to patients.The hospital’s food services vendor is now bringing in health-promoting foods straight from the neighboring field, providing employees, visitors and patients with a diverse selection of farm-fresh produce.
President of St. Luke’s Anderson Campus states: “By providing patients with locally-grown organic produce, St. Luke’s is showing a commitment to the environment and promoting the health of its patients and the community.” The Five Worst Children’s Hospital Food Environments PCRM dietitians found that many hospital cafeterias and patient menus are dominated by foods high in fat, cholesterol, calories, sugar, and sodium. Processed meats, such as bacon, sausage, and hot dogs, are also common and increase cancer and diabetes risk. These five hospitals offer an especially unhealthful food environment for children and their families: Shands Hospital for Children at University of Florida Gainesville, Fla. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. St. Louis Children’s Hospital-Washington University St. Louis, Mo.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Riley Hospital for Children-Indiana University Health Indianapolis, Ind. These all have multiple fast-‘food’ outlets in them. Patient menus feature high-fat, meat-heavy items that put children at risk for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic diseases now and into adulthood. Will it happen?
There are no established criteria for healthy hospital cafeterias. There are healthy initiatives, and there is a growing list of “farm produce to hospital” programs across the nation. Even institutions that made it into the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals house fast-food chains and cafeterias with menus dominated by foods that are high in saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar. Some in facebook are saying “NO” to hospitals ever serving health promoting food. I think the idea is making a little headway, though we have far to go. Dr. Garth Davis in Houston posted this on my question in facebook:
“Been working on my hospital. Not bad.” Conclusion
Many hospitals believe they are not to be ‘food police’ but to provide ‘health care.’ What is better health care than providing health promoting food? This will work far better on most diseases than Any pill or procedure ever will. It is our ethical and medical responsibility to ensure that they take the lead in serving foods that reflect evidence-based nutrition. We must be advocates in our health, not depending on the medical system to keep us healthy. They provide necessary treatments that may prolong or save lives, but to me, the industry does not provide ‘health!’ MY health is MY responsibility. The Dr. and hospitals can have the diseases. The best solution is to inspire them with optimal health and lab results. http://www.plant-strong-health-blog-by-gary.com/wfpb-hospitals/