Healthy Food Initiative Strengthens Hospitals’ Wellness Efforts
by Joan Trezek
Imagine a vending machine without soda. Or an electronic board displaying calories and the nutritional value of meals to help diners choose their food. At hospitals participating in the Hospital Healthy Food Initiative launched in 2012 and part of the Partnership for a Healthier America, a program founded in 2010 under the auspices of first lady Michelle Obama, these changes are already in place or on the way.
Nineteen hospitals and health systems, together with hospital food purveyors, have made a commitment to meet specific criteria to significantly increase their healthy food offerings during a 39-month period. Many of the participating health systems are among the largest, most respected in the country. Among them is Henry Ford Health System, with four acute care hospitals, totaling more than 1,700 beds in the Detroit metropolitan area.
Addressing the relatively small number of participants, John Miller, director of culinary wellness for Henry Ford Health System, says, “The criteria are tough. There’s real work involved in meeting them.”
Deborah Deatrick, senior vice president for community health at Portland-based MaineHealth, agrees. “The guidelines are clear, with specific outcomes and timelines. There’s real teeth to them,” she says.