When it comes to caring for the smallest patients, Aramark Healthcare+ is a national, well-respected partner. When serving kids who are sick and families that can be under stress, a different approach is necessary. Aramark’s advisory team of chefs and dietitians leverage insight and research to create age-appropriate inpatient menus and retail dining programs uniquely designed for little ones.
Robust Dining Menus Focused on Specific Age Groups
Aramark’s Little Treats & Tasty Eats menu brings innovative, engaging dining concepts to pediatric patients. High-quality food, creative menus, and healthy recipes make up this exciting concept, influenced by patient, parent, caregiver, and field insights.
Dining Concepts Include:
- Restaurant-style menus for room service
- Little Chef Series: Limited time offer (LTO) seasonal menus
- Fun and engaging patient-facing communication material and branding, tested and optimized with patient insights and research
- Key brand name and familiar menu items
- Activity books to assist with adding a sense of playfulness and provide a bright spot during the patient’s stay
“The Little Treats & Tasty Eats menu was developed to provide pediatric patients with a light-hearted approach to familiar favorites and new innovations,” said Sharron Lent, RDN, LD, VP Patient Dining & Clinical Nutrition at Aramark. “Aramark’s goal is to create an environment that helps children feel more at ease and provide a robust selection of menu items making them more likely to eat.”
The Little Chef Series provides rotating, seasonal menus each month that helps patients look forward to mealtime which can be a welcome distraction from a long-term hospital stay.
Technology Connects Patients with Experts
Earlier this year, Aramark launched a new telehealth program to digitally connect its highly skilled clinical dietitians with hospital patients through cloud-based technologies. This innovative program enables vulnerable patients in underserved areas to receive better care, as lack of technology or physical location are no longer barriers.
At the University Medical Center (UMC) Lubbock in Lubbock, Texas, the Pediatric multidisciplinary ICU team and Aramark’s on-site RDNs manage the logistics of the telehealth device, enabling patient assessment and education via telehealth. The implementation of telehealth has resulted in a 14% increase in patients seen and 10% increase in time spent on direct patient care.
“Medical nutrition therapy is an important aspect of our care team and the innovation offered with the Aramark program has enabled us to leverage technology to retain difficult to recruit dietitians and continue to provide, safe, high-quality care to our patients,” said Jeff Hill, Senior Vice President of Support Services and Government Relations at the University Medical Center in Lubbock.
Solutions to Address Unique Problems
Have hungry kids in the Emergency Department (ED)? We’ve got a solution for that! As a leader in pediatrics, Aramark is uniquely equipped to address the unique problems children’s hospitals face, like children who haven’t yet been assigned a room where they can receive room service.
At Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC, where Aramark just celebrated it’s one year anniversary, Aramark Healthcare+ is ensuring nutrition for children who are waiting on their room assignment, by bringing the room service model to the ED.
“We can implement improvements right off the bat, because we have solutions in place,” said Lent. “We examine and understand our clients’ challenges and work on implementing proven solutions to address those needs.”
Experts In Child Nutrition Deliver Nutrition-focused and Satisfying Meals
Aramark’s team of chefs and dietitians create and deliver nutrition-focused and satisfying meal options that aim to delight the smallest patients and help aid in faster recovery. Aramark’s patient menu clinical advisory team collaborates to establish the common list of pediatric nutrition care orders and provide insight into nutritional parameters utilized within their hospitals.
Dietitians, chefs, and other experts answer the questions received from parents in the “What’s a Parent To Do?” nutritional health series, and provide in-depth insights, ideas, and information to help parents tackle the toughest, but most rewarding job there is.
Below is a sampling of what parents can find. All the blogs and podcasts are available at FeedYourPotential365.com.
- Talking Nutrition with Kids with Dietitian Karissa Zorn: Dietitian, Karissa Zorn, helps parents better understand how and when to best talk to kids about nutrition, and dos and don’ts to keep in mind as they talk with their kids.
- Making Healthy Food Fun for Kids with Chef Morgan Bell: Chef, Morgan Bell, explains that by making healthy food fun, parents can change the dynamic so that kids enjoy eating healthy foods.
- Protein & Kids with Dietitian Lauryn Smith: Dietitian, Lauryn Smith, educates parents to better understand why protein is so important, how much protein kids need, and how even picky eaters and vegetarians can get enough protein in their diets.
“Our focus is on the total wellbeing of every child, care giver, and family we serve,” said Bart Kaericher, President & CEO of Aramark Healthcare+. “Our hospitality mindset means inpatient and outpatient dining solutions are personalized, scalable, and focused on satisfaction, while our strategic approach redefines the hospital experience and helps improve patient outcomes by combining hospitality, science, and culinary expertise.”
