DELICIOUS REMEDY
Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare follows the food is medicine motto with patients getting chef visits and being encouraged to eat together
Table-side service from a chef is usually reserved for fine dining, not the hospital.
But this week, some patients at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare got a treat to encourage them to eat together: chef Mitch Stanton came up to their unit in his chef whites and cooked bacon, sausage and eggs, any style they wanted, in front of them.
It was such a hit, one patient wanted to take him home. “Everybody loved it. It’s a good change for them. They got to have fresh eggs, kind of more like a restaurant style where they sit down, order their eggs, have their coffee and it’s brought out,” said Stanton, one of five chefs at the hospital. March is national nutrition month and one of the messages being promoted this year is the ability of food to bring families and friends together. At Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, it’s bringing patients together to improve their recovery. About a month ago, the patients in the unit who are recovering from orthopedic surgery started being encouraged to eat their meals together. The idea came from Dr. Nathania Liem, and chef Stanton pitched in with his idea to interact with the patients. The table-side service isn’t an every day event and it isn’t always feasible for patients to get to a common area for meals. Registered practical nurse Natalie Zegarac said patients are happier and more engaged. “Some patients that we find don’t eat very well are eating better now that they’re in the presence of other people and enjoying the sunshine,” Zegarac said of the well-lit dining area.
Dietitians at the hospital say patients eating together can stimulate appetites, boost moods and lower rates of malnutrition in seniors. It encourages mobility and socialization.
Food is medicine, registered dietitian Michelle Watkins said of the often-quoted Hippocrates’ line. “It puts nutrition on the map as part of the therapy towards rehabilitation and restorative care,” Watkins said.
Patient Bill Krestel, the 72-yearold former mayor of Pelee Island, pulled up to a table in his motorized wheelchair Friday. He said if you stay in your room for meals you’re alone, especially if the curtain is drawn for the patient in the other bed. Krestel said he likes talking with other patients.
“It took me back to my school days at Ridgetown College,” Krestel said, recalling students could dress down for breakfast but had to dress in suit and tie for lunch and dinner.