GRANDE: AHS Chooses Choice Chow

(Grande: Page 4)

By Todd Curran
An independent review of the provincial menu program for Alberta Health Services' nursing homes and small hospitals is complete, and residents' voices are being heard. The review, commissioned by Alberta Health Services, acknowledges that the provincial menu program has good foundational elements such as nutritional guides and menu planning, as well as provides recommendations on areas for improvement such as expanding the menu to incorporate more local favourites and resident input on new menu items.
“Our seniors want food that reminds them of home and sometimes home is a nursing home or a long-term care centre,” said Gene Zwozdesky, Minister, Alberta Health and Wellness.  “Food matters to them and we are incorporating their suggestions in the menus.”
Immediate improvements include encouraging facilities to display meal options visually so that residents can be involved in making the choice and providing product sampling sessions for seniors, families, local staff and community members to taste and provide feedback on new menu items.
Future enhancements embrace planning and building on menu choices with culinary teams, led by an Executive Chef. Also, by incorporating regular menu feedback from local kitchen staff, who have first-hand knowledge of what residents don't like by the food left on their plates, the menus can be tailored to be crowd-pleasers.
From September 14th to October 4th, reviewers visited 26 facilities, spoke with residents, families and staff and used a questionnaire to guide conversations about food services. The review included discussions with resident councils and existing patient satisfaction surveys. Patient/resident satisfaction surveys are being conducted every six months and AHS will continue to “fine-tune” the menu and provide updates to the province on the results of the reviews.
“We are making immediate improvements based on the feedback of our patients and residents,” said Andrew Will, Executive Vice-President, Clinical Support Services. “We'll continue to work with these individuals to improve our menus and deliver high quality, nutritious meals.”