Liberalized Patient Menu
A Diversified Menu
TouchPoint prides itself on providing patients, residents, and guests with high-quality, healthy eats. To continue improving upon this goal, in March 2024, TouchPoint piloted a new menu at Ascension Providence Park in Novi, Michigan. Known as the Liberalized Patient Menu, the objective was to provide patients with more diverse menu options that incorporate scratch cooking and fresh herbs and spices in an effort to reduce the sodium and fat content in meals, drive patient satisfaction, and increase the oral food intake of patients who are healing but may not be receiving the full nutrition they need.
Order Print to In-Cart
In-Cart to Departed
Departed to Delivery
What is the Liberalized Patient Menu?
TouchPoint’s Liberalized Patient Menu was developed by taking the liberalized diet approach, which relaxes the restrictions of a therapeutic diet and allows patients to eat a typical diet of foods they enjoy. The goal of a liberalized diet is to improve a patient’s nutritional intake and decrease caloric intake, all while allowing more freedom and flexibility in food choice while maintaining a balanced and nutritious eating plan.
A liberalized diet can be an effective way of improving the overall health and quality of life for a patient. By relaxing traditional dietary restrictions and therapeutic diets can encourage patients to consume a wider range of nutrients, reduce the risk of malnutrition, and fully enjoy mealtimes.
“This new menu is focused on providing a variety of recipes to our patients – recipes that they typically wouldn’t find in a hospital setting – from homestyle classics to plant-forward recipes that incorporate herbs and spices from different regions of the world.”
– Mayssoun Hamade, Vice President, Nutrition & Wellness, TouchPoint Support Services
Why Novi?
Ascension Providence Park in Novi is a Level II trauma facility within Oakland County. The facility maintains an average census of around 220 patients at any given time. Because of the hospital’s patient mix and demographics, it was selected as the sole pilot location for the Liberalized Patient Menu.
Ascension Providence Park
70% of patients can order their own meals.
40% of therapeutic diets are prescribed as regular house diets without restrictions.
A diverse patient population requires menu options that offer kosher, Halal, and a variety of ethnic cuisines.
The Food and Nutrition department is nearly fully staffed.
Crafting Our Recipe
Implementing the new menu at Novi wasn’t a simple task, but it was made easier with the support of a Food and Nutrition team that was comprised of an Executive Chef, a Patient Services Manager, and a Clinical Nutrition Manager. Their expertise lent strength to developing the framework of the program and will ensure proper maintenance after implementation.
Once the revamped menu was approved by the hospital’s onsite physicians and cardiology team, TouchPoint shifted focus to training its culinary staff on Best Practices and Operational Standards. Because the menu offers a variety of options for patients to select from, it requires a more restaurant-style approach. To meet these rigorous demands, the culinary team was cross trained in every position within the department to ensure consistent food quality and flavor profiles. Much of the program’s success falls on the kitchen, so the team worked hard to hone their skills and perfect the quality and presentation of these unique dishes.
Serving Up Success
Since launching in May, the Liberalized Patient Menu program has excelled. TouchPoint’s dietitians and on-site managers have witnessed increased oral meal intake from patients. While performing daily patient rounding, hospital staff has also received praise from patients regarding the new menu. Patients have reported that they are enjoying the meals and the variety of options available, especially vegetarians. Relatedly, managers have noted a reduction in food waste since roll-out.
“The food was great, the portions were perfect, and the broccoli was never overcooked. The whole team adjusted my mother’s meals and made sure she was well-fed. It made a big difference with her experience at Ascension.”
– Family Member of a TouchPoint Patient
The support, camaraderie and engagement of Ascension Providence Park’s Food and Nutrition team has proven to be an invaluable factor to the program’s success. Another key to its continued success is consistency. By focusing on all aspects of the patient dining experience and capturing engagement from our frontline associates, our teams have delivered a solid, consistent mealtime experience for patients.
“Being a vegan is always challenging when ordering food. With the number of vegetarian options available on the menu I was able select the right choices for my diet.”
– TouchPoint Patient
Traditionally, patients would call meal orders in by phone and a call center operator would review the order to ensure it aligned with the patient’s meal requirements. To date, the Liberalized Patient Menu has alleviated the need for call center operators to police the various dietary parameters for patients. Now, the call center team serves as a patient’s first impression of the meal program, as they connect with the patient in their room and guide them through the menu. Not only are our associates helping patients make the right meal choices, they are also building a relationship of trust and compassion as they help the patient feel more at ease in what can typically be an uncomfortable environment.
Summary
A primary goal of the Novi pilot was to stay true to the program and stringently adhere to all its requirements. This meant there was zero room for deviations in the recipe, plate composition, or tray-line processes. Because of the commitment of the TouchPoint team, the Novi pilot successfully produced a true representation of the Liberalized Patient Menu, providing TouchPoint with the data necessary for setting the standards for a national menu and further implementing the program at locations throughout the country.
Operational Analytics
Average meal delivery time: 37 - 41 minutes
- Order print to in-cart
- 14.5 minutes
- In-cart to departed
- 11 minutes
- Departed to delivery
- 12 minutes
- Order print to in-cart
Patients served since roll-out: 14,534
Average tray cost: $1.40
Hospital population on regular diet: 58%