Ohio hospital opens 3rd food clinic

ProMedica Bay Park Hospital in Oregon, Ohio, is the latest of ProMedica’s 13 hospitals to offer the group’s food clinic program.

The clinic, the third of its kind at ProMedica, came about through ProMedica’s continued emphasis on hunger as a health issue.

As part of that focus, every patient is screened for food insecurity when admitted to the hospital using two evidence-based screening questions, ProMedica says. (Screening also takes place during primary care visits.) Patients who screen positive are provided with a basic food care package at discharge and are referred to the food clinic.

The new clinic is located inside the office building of the community hospital, which serves the city of Oregon and nearby rural communities. Open on Thursdays, it’s designed to serve the more than 1,600 patients in the Bay Park region who have screened positive for food insecurity, according to an article in The Toledo Blade.

Participants can shop for their entire household at the food clinic once a month for up to six months. The clinic also offers healthy recipes, nutrition counseling and other community resources.

The program, which began in 2015, has served more than 6,600 households, according to the The Toledo Blade. The other food clinics are located in Sylvania and Toledo, Ohio.

Related:ProMedica hospital system treats hunger as a health issue