Candid reviews of hospital food

BEST HOSPITAL FOOD

Janet Smith Kuykendall – St. Joseph’s Hospital in Asheville, N.C.
I actually have very fond memories of eating in the cafeteria at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Asheville, N.C. I worked there for 13 years after I finished nursing school back in the early ’80s. Sometimes on the weekends we would take turns going down to the cafeteria and getting breakfast. They had the best fried apples and biscuits that I can ever remember eating. It was always a treat to get those. The other thing that I vividly remember enjoying was the pineapple cheesecake—it was certainly a treat also.

Araceli Sotomayor Klapp – St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Ill
My favorite was the cafeteria food at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Ill., at breakfast time…scrambled eggs, link sausage or patty with the most delicious potatoes ever. I can easily recall the smell now! I could not start my shift without it. After that breakfast, I was a WHOLE person, ready for anything the day would bring….

Kristine Free – Plantation General in Plantation, Fla
I’m a nurse going on 11 years and have seen the “evolution” of hospital food and cafeterias over the years. Patients have more and more choices on where they can choose to receive their healthcare, and hospital food is shown to be a contributing factor in their choices. My best experience was as a patient on the perinatal unit at Plantation General in Plantation, Fla., a few years ago. They have a “room service” type of menu. Any time, day or night, you could order from a menu and a nutrition services person would deliver it fresh (and hot) to your room. Way to think outside the box, PGH!

Amber Lee Hill – Scottsburg, Ind.
I will say that our hospital in our little town of Scottsburg, Ind., has great food! I used to work third shift there and would eat breakfast every morning before I went home!!! YUMMY! 🙂

Kim Griffin, RN, BSN, MNc – Harborview Medical Center, in Seattle, Washington
I have been fortunate enough not to be an over-night patient more than once wherein I had to eat hospital food. However, as a registered nurse, I have worked at a couple of hospitals where I, naturally, ate lunch. Off hand, I can’t recall any place that served awful food. In fact, I have always been pleased by the selections offered. The most recent hospital I worked in is Harborview Medical Center, in Seattle, Washington. Their cafeteria always had a fresh salad and soup bar, hand made deli sandwiches and specialty salads, and a made-to-order grill….that wasn’t all grease! In addition, they also had the “hot line” of the daily meal. The selections here were also quite good and included items such as baked salmon, steamed vegetables, rosemary potatoes, etc. No frozen or processed food!

Kim Griffin, RN, BSN, MNc – Virginia Mason Medical Center in Lynnwood, Washington
Because this is a smaller satellite clinic, there is no cafeteria. However, there is a vending machine. Several months ago, the management surveyed the employees and put in a refrigerated vending machine that stocked prepared salads, cut fruits and vegetables, yogurt, fruit and vegetable juices, deli sandwiches, and cheese. I was afraid to try it at first, but when I did the items were actually fresh and tasty! So I consider that a big step in the right nutritional direction. At this clinic we have also eliminated plastic utensils and paper products (plates, cups, bowls) and replaced them with real forks, plates, coffee cups and bowls that we each wash and reuse. GOING GREEN!!

Anonymous
The food’s better at Military Hospitals. Madigan has a pretty good cafeteria located at Ft. Lewis, Washington. Okay, maybe the food isn’t that great with all military hospitals (specially Letterman when it was open with the Presidio).

And now, what you DIDN’T like…