Hospital Ditches the Fryers

University of Missouri Health Care's University Hospital in Columbia has almost totally eliminated fried foods and upped the number of healthy dishes it serves to both patients and retail customers, reports the Columbia Tribune. The hospital had gone to a room service model for all patient dining five years ago and more recently has revamped the menu mix to eliminate unhealthy options like fried chicken (which was replaced with a baked version). On the retail side, deep fat fryers were scrapped in a recent renovation of University Hospital's The Grille Downstairs cafeteria and a brand new retail location, Essentials, is totally fryer-free, serving a menu of salads, sandwiches, sushi, premium burgers, flatbread pizzas, smoothies and daily specials. Despite the somewhat pricey selection, Essentials recorded over 214,000 transactions in the past year, the Tribune reports.