Hospital Power Players: Baptist Medical Center

7. Baptist Medical Center, San Antonio

Licensed Beds: 1,741*
Management: Self-operated
Foodservice Head: Susan Brinkmeier, RD, LD, CNSC, director of food & nutrition services
Avg. Daily In-patient Census: 830*
Avg. No. In-patient Meals/Day: 2,254*
No. of Retail Dining Outlets: 8*
Total Annual Retail Sales: $3,689,000*
Dining/Nutrition Services FTEs: 206.6*

Each of the five hospitals in the Baptist system serves a unique population, and each foodservice has its own flavor as well as its own challenges. Value Assessment Teams (VATs) for food and nutrition services meet bi-monthly to review food costs, rebates and incentives, menus, recipes, policies, new products and new initiatives.

Baptist uses a standardized restaurant-style menu and five-week cafeteria menu to help control costs and provide consistent pricing across the system. There's also a VIP menu for new mothers and one for acute rehab patients.

Recent initiatives include Meatless Mondays in the cafeterias and a heart-healthy special daily that meets the city of San Antonio’s Por Vida healthy dining guidelines. (Por Vida is a restaurant recognition program that helps consumers make healthier food choices by identifying menu items that meet nutritional guidelines developed by the Healthy Restaurants Coalition.) A new vending contract now supplies healthier options round the clock. In progress are automated checkout options at the registers and meal preorder/payment.

Hundred-year-old Baptist Medical Center is modernizing its cafeteria, removing unused counters, reducing and redistributing beverage coolers and opening up the service area. Another recent addition is a pickup window for the grill area. The cafeteria has also been opened up for three hours at night with fresh salads, sandwiches and some hot foods, replacing a discontinued micro market.

Due to limited space for placing coffee shops or even kiosks, Baptist is converting one corner of the cafeteria into a coffee lounge with a Starbucks vending machine.

*number for Baptist Health System