Work Together: Food Service as part of the healthcare team

Food is vital to a patient’s experience and recovery Food intake is important to the recovery of patients; patients who do not eat the food stay longer in hospital Older adults are more likely to experience barriers to food intake Quality food is important to the patient experience in hospital

Foodservice workers are a vital part of the team Food is medicine. Medicine heals. High quality food requires effort and investment Staff who deliver the tray Can represent a positive hospital experience Can be a friendly face See how the patient does with meals Ensure that patients get this vital therapy on time and when they can eat

Encourage Food Intake Provide friendly, positive encouragement for eating the meal; a brief chat with a patient can be the highlight of their day Remove barriers to food intake; put the tray close to the patient, open packages Consider how volunteers can do some tasks to ensure meals are delivered on time Discuss the possibility of those who deliver the tray to also record the amount eaten Have food (all textures) available for patients outside of mealtimes, and for those who may have missed a meal

Identify when things can be improved Let other staff know when a patient is struggling with eating Communicate patient preferences Complete periodic audits of mealtimes to understand Preferred foods Barriers to food intake Where improvements can be made

Increasing Staff Awareness Many unit staff may be unaware of how the food delivery system works at their hospital, where the food comes from or even how it tastes. If there seem to be negative attitudes from staff regarding the food, an education and tasting session can change their perceptions. Get patient and staff feedback about the food; what patients report as liking/disliking, or where improvements can be made.

Acknowledgements These slides were created and approved by: Heather Keller Celia Laur Bridget Davidson The More-2-Eat Education Group* * Includes input from the UK Need for Nutrition Education/Innovation Programme (NNEdPro) Group The More-2-Eat study was funded by the Canadian Frailty Network (known previously as Technology Evaluation in the Elderly Network, TVN), supported by Government of Canada through Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Program