New hospital dining program makes mealtime a hit

Dec. 7—With improvements to the St. Mary's Hospital cafeteria, in Ottawa, Ill., hospital officials said some patients are claiming meal time is the highlight of their day.

St. Mary's Hospital in Streator has a remodeled cafeteria and a new dining service. The cafeteria was remodeled in October, with the hospital's food service provider Sodexo's new innovative dining program called Fresh Inspirations. The program has enabled the cafeteria to provide a hotel-type dining service for patients called "At Your Request Room Service Dining."

The remodel was designed to have a customizable cafe format. New equipment and ovens allow staff to make meals to order. Tina Broerman, the director of food and nutritional services, said Fresh Inspirations is keeping up with moving trends in health care.