New patient food system at Hospital offers higher-quality, nutritious, and tastier meals

(Newmarket, Ontario – October 9, 2012) Southlake Regional Health Centre, in partnership with Morrison Healthcare – a member of Compass Group Canada, have recently implemented changes to the patient food system at the Hospital with the introduction of Steamplicity®, a completely new cooking process and food delivery model developed in the UK in 2005 for the foodservice sector and brought to Canada by Morrison Healthcare in 2009.

An innovative cooking method which steams food using the natural moisture in the ingredients, Steamplicity® is now offering Southlake patients a variety of high-quality, nutritious, and tasty menu options, some of which include: sweet curry chicken and basmati rice with julienned red and green peppers, and fresh broccoli; chicken Alfredo served over penne pasta with fresh carrots and baby peas; and wild pacific salmon and steamed rice with fresh broccoli florets and sweet corn.

According to Southlake President and CEO Dr. Dave Williams, who is a strong advocate of continuously seeking ways to improve the patient experience, the decision to introduce Steamplicity® as the new patient food model came in response to feedback from patients who felt there was an opportunity to improve the quality of meals provided by the Hospital.

And now – only a week in – Dr. Williams is pleased to report that Steamplicity® is already generating a positive buzz.

“The new system was introduced last Tuesday, and we have already seen a significant and overwhelmingly positive response from our patients as well as members of our healthcare team,” he said. “I can only imagine and anticipate how well this will be received going forward.”

With Steamplicity®, Southlake Food Service Associates visit patients as often as nine times a day – once to place their orders, which are selected by patients from a restaurant-style menu approximately two hours before each meal, once to deliver each meal, and then once more to check in.

As opposed to a centralized kitchen located away from the patient care areas, the proximity of nine food preparation pantries throughout the Hospital – constructed to support Steamplicity® – help to ensure the food is fresh and hot when it is delivered to the patient.

“It really isn't just about the food,” said Dr. Williams. “It all boils down to providing our patients with the absolute best service. They deserve nothing less.”

Over the past year, a dedicated team of representatives from both Southlake and Morrison Healthcare have worked diligently to help ensure a smooth and seamless transition to Steamplicity®.

“We are very excited about working with Southlake to implement Steamplicity®. A lot of work happens behind the scenes long before we introduce it to patients and I would like to commend everyone we worked with at Southlake who have been instrumental in such a successful launch,” said Sharon McDonald, President of Morrison Healthcare. “It is great to work in partnership with hospitals that are completely focused on patient-centred care and truly understand the importance of providing nutritious, tasty meals to patients along with personal care and attention which are vital to a patient's recovery.”

In December 2011, Southlake and Morrison Healthcare held a menu-tasting event for patients and staff and engaged more than 100 people in developing the menu that is now in use. Attendees were provided with information on where and how the food would be assembled, a nutritional analysis of each of the meals, and most importantly, the opportunity to sample and provide feedback on the tastiness of meals that were in the running to be selected for the menus.

Dietitians and representatives from the Hospital's Eating Disorder Program and Swallowing Team, as well as experts from Morrison Healthcare, reviewed the preferred choices following the event to provide input on dietary requirements for patients with particular medical conditions.

“It was crucial to have dietitians as part of the transition to Steamplicity®,” said Michelle Fedele, a Registered Dietitian at Southlake with more than 10 years experience. “It ensured the meals would not only be nutritionally balanced, but would meet the unique and diverse needs of our patients who require more specialized diets such as renal, vegetarian, and diabetic.”