Clarion Hospital was recognized Monday for achieving food, beverage and procurement standards throughout the hospital at the bronze level by the Healthsystem of Pennsylvania (HAP).
The bronze level of recognition represents achievement in implementing two Good Food, Healthy Hospital (GFHH) standards — food and beverages served in patient meals and cafeteria.
In October, GFHH began its fourth year of a five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand the impact of GFHH.
Butler Health System, of which Clarion Hospital is a member, is the first health system in western Pennsylvania to participate in the GFHH program.
The program helps hospitals provide healthy food options and nutritional education to their employees, visitors and patients. In return, this leads to healthier lifestyle choices that help combat high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Eating healthy required some changes in operation for Dave Wasilowski, the dietary manager at Clarion Hospital.
“The biggest change is what we are buying,” said Wasilowski. “I buy low sodium products. We will buy baked chips instead of the regular chips. The challenge was finding those products at a reasonable price. You have to find that compromise or it won’t be good on the budget. We have been able to do that.”
“They have done a lot with positioning items,” said Shelly Chamberton of GFHH. “For example Dave has put water on the top shelf of the beverages and sugary drinks on the bottom of his serving line.”
Wasilowski said he is purchasing lower fat meat and low-sodium lunch meats.
“I still offer bacon but I also offer turkey bacon,” he said.
The pandemic has caused other problems in implementing the plan, according to Wasilowski.
“The pandemic reduced our volume by over 60 percent. We are trying to keep up by making changes,” he said. “The greatest challenge right now is the shortage. The supply chain is really starting to have an effect on us. Every week is different. We don’t know what we will get or what we won’t get.”
Prices are climbing, and that is causing an additional strain.
“We do buy some local. We did have a great harvest this year. There was corn everywhere. The challenge is not only buying it but also getting it here. We also have to be sure that our local producers have the right kind of liability insurance,” he added.
Providing healthy, tasty food for the patients is crucial for the hospital, Wasilowski said.
“Our hostess visits the patient and shows the patient the menu choices for the day. She uses her iPad and enters that person’s choices according to their dietary requirements,” he said. “It gives them some choice. The patients like it.”
Vending machines can pose a problem since they are usually stocked with sweets, but the healthier items will be placed at eye level,” said Chamberton.
The GFHH helps the 37 member hospitals with menu choices, recipes and technical assistance, according to Chamberton.