NYC hospitals take healthy approach to meals

July 18 — It seems like common sense that hospitals — a place where people go to improve their health — would serve nutritious food. But that not always so in Montefiore Medical Center in the Norwood section of the Bronx.

"When I first started working here, there was a lot more greasy hot foods," says Julia Paukowits, a secretary in the Montefiore Neurology Department.

Having a popular menu, with fun bar-like snacks is not uncommon at hospitals around the city.

"As a physician, we often council our patients to eat a healthy diet and then you go to the cafeteria and you find sugary drinks and high-salt content," says Dr. Shlomo Kuperman, a Montefiore medical resident.

"That has all changed at Montefiore Medical Center. It is one of 35 hospitals to take part in the city Department of Health's Healthy Hospital Initiative." 

"When I first started working here, there was a lot more greasy hot foods," says Julia Paukowits, a secretary in the Montefiore Neurology Department.