Coinciding with National Nutrition Month in March, hospital culinary teams faced off at Glen Cove Hospital’s Pratt Auditorium, which was transformed into a giant kitchen.
Northern Westchester Hospital launched its Food is Care patient nutrition program in 2012. Since its launch, the program has reached the top 10 percent among hospital nutrition programs in the United States.
“Proper nutrition is a critical component in providing high-quality, patient centered care,” said Lauraine Szekely, DNP, MBA, RN, chief nursing officer at Northern Westchester Hospital. “Providing healthy food is important for healing and wellness both in and out of the hospital, and our program delivers healthy food that is presented in a restaurant manner, tastes great, and is more satisfying for our patients.The feedback we receive from our patients has been so positive, that we now provide them with our recipes."
“It was a privilege to participate in this competition. The meals prepared by the chefs were amazing and we are honored that our dish was selected as the winner,” said Patty Sobol, executive chef at Northern Westchester Hospital. “We are really proud of our program and I find it personally satisfying to know that the healthy dishes that we prepare have an important role in helping our patients return to health."
Chefs competing in the competition were required to serve up delicious restaurant-quality meals, but without the high fat, calories or sodium.
Hospital culinary teams were paired with a registered dietitian from a North Shore-LIJ hospital to ensure that each dish was equal or less than 500 calories, 15 grams of fat and 600 milligrams of sodium.
To learn more about the Northern Westchester Hospital Food is Care program, visit http://nwhc.net/about-us/food-is-care.