Purchasing Food, Supplies, and Equipment

Abstract

Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center, lo cated in Bronx, New York, is a private, non-pro fit general hospital with 800 beds. The patients are about 2% private, 72% semi-private, and 26% service. The average length of stay is around 15 days. Food service is basically conventional, and is prepared on the premises from raw products. Mr. Bloch writes: "Payroll is approximately double the cost of raw foods. It is larger than in some other hospitals because of the physical layout of the Montefiore Medical Center (pa tients are housed in six buildings connected by tunnels) and because of the hospital's extensive teaching, research, and diet therapy programs. There are 23 floor dietitians. "In many hospitals, trays are served to patients by nursing personnel and between-meal nourish ments by volunteeers. At Montefiore, all of these services are provided by dietary personnel. There are 17 employees involved in cooking; 65 in other kitchen duties; and 73 full-time and 49 part-time employees involved in patients' ser vice — tray assembly, delivery of food carts and tray service to patients, collecting trays after meals and returning the carts to the dishroom. "Our food service people, as well as most other personnel of the hospital, have been unionized since 1959. The union contract determines exact ly the number of hours worked per week and the fringe benefits such as vacations, sick leave, holidays, and so on. There are job descriptions for all dietary personnel which have been agreed upon by the hospital and the union." Jacques W. Bloch is the Assistant to the Admin istrator of Montefiore Hospital and Medical Cen ter and has been in complete charge of food operations for the past 18 years. Previously he served as food production manager at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. A graduate of the College Technique Hotelier, Strasbourg, France, Mr. Bloch has lectured at Columbia and Cornell universities and is a past president of the American Society of Hospital Food Ser vice Administrators. He is food service con sultant to the American Hospital Association.