Getting patients back on the road to health involves more than providing them with the treatments or medications they need. Health care teams are uniquely positioned to help patients and families make lifestyle changes that will not only support them as they heal, but will help prevent future health issues — and this is especially important in Philadelphia given the prevalence of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease in the local community.
Pennsylvania Hospital is proud to announce that our Food and Nutrition Services team, led by director Carolyn Tobin, recently achieved Bronze status from the Good Food, Healthy Hospitals (GFHH) initiative — an impressive feat given that the hospital only made its GFHH pledge earlier this year!
The initiative is the result of the combined efforts of Get Healthy Philly (launched by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health), the American Heart Association, and The Common Market, a sustainable nonprofit regional food distributor. Through GFHH, these organizations aim to promote healthy eating and access to sustainable, locally sourced food in hospital environments, touching everything from the meals served to patients, to the food items available to visitors and staff in the cafeteria and vending machines, to the catering menus for hospital events.
PAH has already taken great strides to comply with these voluntary nutrition and preparation standards, and Tobin and her team — including executive chef Sal DiPalma, retail manager Mark Mykulowycz, and clinical nutrition manager Michael Melvin, MS, RD — aren’t planning to slow down any time soon.
“We’re determined to make healthy eating easy. We offer whole grain, vegetarian, and vegan options to our patients, and we’ve cut deep fried foods across the board,” she said. “Some of the other changes we’ve made include providing a ‘rainbow’ of fresh seasonal produce, purchasing locally sourced eggs, creating all of our soups with low sodium bases, and implementing our own campaigns like ‘Wellness Wednesdays.’”
This focus on nutrition also extends to beverages. In addition to serving 100 percent fruit juices, Tobin notes that sugar-sweetened beverages are being phased out of PAH, and they will soon be eliminated from the health system altogether. In no time at all, all of these Bronze-earning steps will ensure PAH goes for the gold! Congratulations to Food and Nutrition Services, and thank you for your dedication to encouraging healthy eating across our hospital community.