Healing in Meals

I am Hugh Gittens, executive chef at Texas Health Fort Worth. When I was asked to blog, I thought it was a great opportunity to share the story of how we care for our patients with nutrition and food.
When a patient enters the hospital, all sorts of processes go into action behind the scenes. Every one of those actions is geared toward compassionate patient care and healing.
One process in particular is meal service. Upon admittance, an assessment is performed and dietitians work with physicians to prescribe diets. At this point meals are prepared according to the patient’s diet order; using strict nutritional guidelines. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is served by a warm, gracious smiling host or hostess at their bedside.
Every day, we serve more than 4,000 meals to patients, visitors, employees, physicians and volunteers. It takes an army to get this accomplished, but we have an incredible staff - many who have been at this hospital for most of their careers. The Texas Health Fort Worth Nutrition & Food Service is very diverse with employees from Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, Latin America, the Caribbean and the good ‘ol U.S.A. This diverse group ensures that healing meals are served in any language.
I will be sharing with you many of these employees stories in the coming months - giving you a flavor of the diversity and commitment these individuals have to providing quality food for our patients and the public.