Combining Cardiac, Diabetic and Regular Diets into One Patient Menu

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: To describe the action steps for consolidating three diets, cardiac, diabetic and coronary into one patient menu.To demonstrate healthful nutrition recommendations, the nutrition department of a 450 bed acute care facility combined the separate cardiac, diabetic and regular patient diets to form one menu. Patient satisfaction, cost savings, capability of production, medical staff and hospital staff response were identified as areas of concern. During a six month planning process, guidelines for the patient menu were determined, nutrient analysis of each recipe was completed, recipe testing was conducted and menus were written based on the outcomes of the combined tests. Production and ordering functions were completed. Hospital and medical staff were educated on the rationale of the new menu. The kitchen supervisors and staff were, and continue to be trained in new cooking methods. When the new menus were implemented, patient surveys were done for each meal during the initial week of production and later these surveys were repeated. Survey results revealed that 18 out of 21 meals met the goal of 85% patient satisfaction. Physician reaction has been positive while hospital staff response has been varied. Based on patient and physician response, this project was determined to be successful. Continuous quality improvement is in use and targets: increased “comfort” foods on the menu, continued marketing of the menus to patients, continued education of the hospital staff and improved systematic tracking of satisfaction levels and financial data.