As both hospital operations and everyday activities shifted following the arrival of the coronavirus in our region in March, many aspects of daily life had to change — including ordering take-out. Many restaurants and cafés closed in an abundance of caution, and others switched to using third-party delivery services to minimize contact. But many were still left wondering whether ordering food would expose them to packaging touched by too many hands, or whether the preparation and handoff process would increase their risk of illness.
To ensure frontline hospital staff can safely and conveniently access the sustenance they need to power through these challenging days, Penn Medicine introduced a new meal delivery platform. Nourished allows staff to easily order meals from a curated list of local restaurants via text message. Whether they opt to order a single day’s lunch or a week’s worth of dinners for their team, staff members can choose from a range of affordable options suited for a variety of dietary needs.
Hungry? Join Nourished today by enrolling online or by texting “nourish” to 215.509.5578. You will receive a text with instructions to set up your profile and start ordering.
Nourished was initially proposed by Lisa Bellini, MD, a pulmonologist and senior vice dean for Academic Affairs in the Perelman School of Medicine, and in just over a week, the Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation put her idea into action. After the program is piloted at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center over the first week of April, it will soon be rolled out to Penn Medicine’s other downtown hospitals.
“It has been a whirlwind! But our team, like many others throughout the health system, is aiming to be as agile as possible. It’s been phenomenal seeing how everyone has mobilized,” said Ryan Schumacher, an innovation associate at the Center for Health Care Innovation. Schumacher, who has a background in the food industry, serves as program lead and quickly received support from an interdisciplinary group of hospital leaders and medical students, as well as development experts outside of Penn and partners at local restaurants like Baology and Café Ynez.
Social media has highlighted donation campaigns that are keeping providers fed and restaurants afloat, but Nourished is a protocol-driven program implemented by the health system that ensures safe practices are consistently followed when meals are prepared and delivered. Contactless delivery prevents the possible spread of the virus and ensures that all meals are transported directly from the restaurant’s kitchen to a secure hospital access point.
“We’ve received great feedback from staff who are enjoying the convenience of the mobile platform, as well as the food itself,” said Human Resources manager Zene Colt, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP. “Plus, this also allows us to patronize restaurants in our community that really could use some support right now.” Indeed, receiving regular orders from hospital staff will help local restaurants remain open and continue their operations as normally as possible, boosting community wellness and morale.
“We’ve aimed to create something that will be sustainable and available to all of our hard-working health care professionals,” Schumacher said. “COVID-19 has forced us to face a ‘new normal’ for the next several weeks or months. But while there’s a lot of uncertainty right now, our goal is to ensure employees can rely on Nourished to provide delicious food and our community can rely on us for support.”