Introduction
In the United States alone there are over 6,000 Hospitals and 65,000 Skilled Nursing Facilities, all of which have the same goal of providing high-quality and nutritious meals for the patients, staff, and visitors they serve daily. This sector can often be overlooked, but with increased demand and expectation for a higher level of guest satisfaction, Healthcare Food Service has quietly become one of the most important sectors of the food service industry. According to many national studies, over 40% of consumers consider food options when deciding on their healthcare options.
One of the most important ways that Healthcare Food Service can maintain the highest level of food quality and ensure patient satisfaction is to invest in the right equipment. Choosing the right equipment and ensuring the operator has been properly trained is essential to providing the patients, staff, and guests with the highest quality food service.
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Healthcare Foodservice Styles
There are many different layouts possible when it comes to designing kitchens. However, healthcare food service tends to fall into one of four categories:
In this article, we will cover traditional Tray Line Service, Pod Service, Satellite Service, and Room Service styles commonly used in healthcare facilities and how FWE’s commercial kitchen equipment can provide the best solutions for each.
Healthcare food service is unique in the fact that nutritional requirements and dietary restrictions are prioritized over flavor and appearance. However, this shouldn’t encourage facilities to neglect the fact that the quality of the food they provide can have an extraordinary effect on both their patients and staff. In recent studies, datassential found that 66% of patients said that food offerings were important to their overall care experience and 80% of long-term care/senior living residents agreed.
Now that we have looked at some statistics about the importance of food service, let’s review what is still one of the most popular methods: Tray Line Service.
Tray Line Service
What is Tray Line Service?
The Traditional Tray Line has been the standard food service model for most institutional types of food service, especially in the hospital and healthcare setting for decades. It’s a tried-and-true service model and can be structured in a way that best fits the size of the operation and the number of patients/residents being fed on any particular day. This service model is easily adaptable to any size operation and lends itself well to strict oversight by Dietitians, Doctors, and other Dietary professionals.
Pros
One of the main advantages of the tray line method is that it allows for efficient and quick food service. This is especially important in a busy healthcare facility where time is of the essence, and it is critical for patients to be on a strict meal schedule. The tray line method also allows for easy portion control and nutrition tracking. Each “stop” of the tray line is “manned or womanned” with staff to ensure the proper component is added or omitted. The staff will also control portion size in correlation to the Doctor/Dietitian’s recommendation. (Check out this video to see one in action)
Cons
However, there are some drawbacks to the tray line method. Some patients may feel limited in their food options, although most of the time the options are predetermined by the Doctor or Dietitian. The lack of menu variety and stricter times of meal service can certainly have a negative effect on a patient’s experience at a facility. Tray line service typically runs very efficiently but can become bogged down and bottlenecked. This can cause delay in meal delivery and potentially less favorable food. This makes having the right holding and serving equipment to maximize food quality vs. time vital.
Summary
Overall, the tray line method of food service in hospitals and healthcare facilities is a tried-and-true, efficient way to provide patients with food and ensure that they are getting the nutrients they need. Tray lines often operate at strictly regulated times to ensure patients’ meals are available at the specific increments set by The Doctor/Dietitians. However, it is important to also consider the needs and preferences of individual patients that may be on far less restrictive diets and patients that prefer to have their meals at “off-peak hours” and find ways to accommodate those as well.
Pod Service
Recommended Equipment for Trayline and Pod Foodservice
Holding Cabinets
To alleviate bottlenecks and streamline service times, heated holding cabinets allow kitchens to batch-cook large quantities of food ahead of time and then hold these products while maintaining their “Just-cooked” quality. The type of food and the duration that it is needed to be held should be taken into consideration when deciding which holding cabinet is the right choice. Popular models in this industry are the UHS, MTU, and PHTT Series (To learn more about the differences between these series check out THIS article)
Serving Wells
Once the food is prepared, it needs to be placed in a central location to begin plating. Serving wells, both heated and non-heated, are essential to creating an assembly line process that greatly increases the speed and accuracy at which trays are assembled.
A good example of a serving well ideal for this application would be the HLC-6W6-7H-42-DRN. This unit comes equipped with 6 heated wells and 6 heated compartments that can hold up to forty-two standard 12” x 20” pans and operated by heating up water in the wells to produce a gentle, uniform heat to maintain products’ optimal quality. There is also a “dry” model that operates without water if it is not accessible. These are just two of many serving well models we offer, so be sure to check out the rest of them here
Air Screens
Quick access to refrigerated products is an important feature of a Tray Make Line service that should not be overlooked. There are many issues that a standard refrigerator might cause. Some of these are leaving the door open too long and wasting energy, frequent opening and closing of the door that may slow down service, constant touching of doors and handles causing an increased likelihood of contamination or germ spread, and others. An effectively placed Air Screen, such as the R-AS-10, can eliminate many of these issues by providing energy-efficient refrigeration for extended periods of time without having to close the door. Now operators can simply reach in and get the items they need without the hassle and worry of opening and shutting the door. Learn more about our Air Screen options here
Satellite Service
What is Satellite Service?
Simply put, Satellite Service utilizes a Main or Central kitchen and smaller Satellite kitchens. The central kitchen acts as the center hub for all food service-related functions. From this hub, staff members coordinate food prep, handle large batch cooking, bulk food delivery, and inventory control to the satellite kitchens. The satellite kitchens are typically responsible for the food service needs of a small, predetermined portion of the facility and are usually equipped for lesser volume food prep and cooking.
They may be equipped to “finish” a patient’s meal for delivery to their room. Utilizing items like toasters, microwaves, high-speed ovens, refrigeration units, and small serving wells, the satellite kitchen also often may have a small café style serving area for casual meal service away from the patient’s room. It is extremely important for HACCP guidelines to be adhered to during the entire meal service, including during transport. Whether it’s transported from the central kitchen to the smaller satellite kitchens or from the satellite kitchens to patient rooms, high-quality transport carts are invaluable during this time, not only for quick and efficient mobility to the patient but also to maintain meals at safe serving temperatures and top quality. It is crucial to invest time and resources into designing these areas, acquiring the right types of equipment, and training staff to ensure a streamlined and efficient food service operation.
Pros
One of the biggest advantages of using Satellite Service in healthcare facilities is the creation of a streamlined network that facilitates the cooking, holding, transportation, tray assembly, and delivery of food to patients in an efficient and timely manner. The system ensures that each step is allocated a specific space, which minimizes errors that can lead to confusion and disrupt meal times for both patients and staff.
Cons
While the Satellite Service style is highly efficient and streamlined for large healthcare facilities, it also has its limitations. Serving meals to thousands of patients during each meal period requires a significant investment in equipment for cooking, holding, transporting, and assembling trays. If any of the equipment fails, it can lead to the loss of hundreds of meals, creating a backlog for the kitchen and putting a strain on the department’s budget. To avoid such situations, it is crucial to invest in high-quality equipment specifically designed for each task in the network. This investment will save time, money, and headaches in the long run.
Summary
Serving food for larger healthcare facilities is a complex process that presents unique challenges that vary from one facility to another. It’s essential to streamline each step of the process to ensure food safety compliance while also dedicating enough time to prepare high-quality meals that meet patients’ expectations. Investing in the right equipment is crucial to avoid potential pitfalls and ensure that the food service runs smoothly, even when serving large numbers of patients.
Room Service
What is Room Service?
Room Service in healthcare facilities is reminiscent of the Room Service provided in hotels and resorts. Offering patients a diverse menu to order from whenever they are hungry and ready to eat can be a great selling point for many facilities.
Room Service blends the need for kitchens to prepare meals to order with the dietary requirements of healthcare patients, which can be challenging to perfect. Investing in the right equipment can help your kitchen overcome many of the issues that arise when implementing this style.
Pros
Implementing a Room Service style of food service, similar to that found in luxury hotels and resorts, may initially seem like an unnecessary luxury for healthcare facilities. However, it can actually be an effective solution for combating the common problem of undernutrition among inpatients.
Research indicates that between 13-40% of patients worldwide suffer from undernutrition while receiving inpatient care. While this can be caused by various factors, Room Service can help eliminate some of the most common ones, such as patients receiving medical care during meal times, limited food options that do not meet the patient’s preferences, or a lack of appetite during meal times. Therefore, investing in a Room Service style can prove to be a valuable asset in promoting optimal nutrition for patients in healthcare facilities.
Cons
Although Room Service can appear appealing for many establishments, it does have its drawbacks, with the primary issue being the challenge of providing a full menu that can be ordered at any time of the day. Nonetheless, there are several ways to address this concern. One simple solution is to change your perspective on the menu you will offer. While you might have more elaborate options, like pasta with white and red sauce, baked salmon, or grilled steak (and some places even serve sushi), the majority of residents will likely prefer familiar and comforting dishes such as meatloaf, soups, personal pizzas, or sandwich options.
Summary
To distinguish your healthcare facility and provide essential nutritional care to your patients, you can offer a menu consisting of daily choices of easy-to-batch-cook and hold food, along with a few more intricate options for patients with refined tastes, and regular staples.
Recommended Equipment for Satellite and Room Service
Just like any food-serving facility, equipment plays a crucial role in the success of food service operations in the healthcare industry. Earlier in our article, we suggested some equipment that is beneficial for Tray Line and Pod Service, and you will find some crossover as these pieces of equipment are utilized for Satellite and Room Service as well.
Dual Temp Transport Cabinets
Cooking and holding food is only half the battle for many facilities. The other crucial step is transporting the product to its appropriate destination. Almost every cabinet we produce is robustly built to handle transport operations. However, some are specifically designed with Satellite and Room Service operations in mind.
Two of these units such as the UHRS-7-7 and UHRS-10, are designed for operations that require both refrigerated and heated transport cabinets. FWE offers a range of transport cabinets to help facilities ensure that food remains at the proper temperature during transport. These cabinets are specially designed to ensure that the food is safe and remains at the desired temperature until it is served to the patients.
Tray Transport
When it comes to food service in healthcare facilities, delivering trays to patients is arguably the most crucial step in the process. To ensure that this step is done correctly, investing in a Tray Delivery Cart specifically built for use in healthcare facilities is essential. However, many Tray Delivery Carts can be heard moving around the facility from several hallways away, which can be disturbing to both patients and healthcare workers.
FWE’s lines of tray delivery carts, such as the ETC Series, are equipped with quiet ride features to eliminate this issue. These features include upgraded casters mounted onto stress plates that absorb any sounds created from moving the cart around the facility, as well as sound-dampening components that eliminate grating metal on metal noises. With FWE’s Tray Delivery Carts, healthcare facilities can ensure that food is delivered quietly and efficiently, without causing any unnecessary disruptions or disturbances.
Retherm Ovens
When it comes to volume feeding in healthcare facilities, there are often unique challenges, especially in large locations. However, FWE’s family of Retherm Ovens provides a solution that offers fast results without compromising the quality of your food through overcooking or dehydration.
In some jurisdictions, these ovens can even be operated without the need for costly ventilation systems, making it possible to re-thermalize food in locations where it might not otherwise be feasible. This means that healthcare facilities can maintain high-quality food standards, even in areas with limited resources, ensuring that patients receive the nutrition they need to support their recovery. Two examples of these units are the RH-18 and RH-18-MT
Talk To Our Professionals
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