Photo source: https://westhillshospital.com/ Hi, my name is Dustin. I recently ended my clinical management rotation at West Hills Hospital in West Hills, California. One of my final projects was to conduct a patient satisfaction survey, audit tray line efficiency, and to check all the patient floor refrigerators for proper food labeling. No longer wearing my usual dietitian lab coat, I walked on the patient floors talking to every patient. Of course, many patients thought I was the cafeteria lady rounding to collect their menu. I talked to many patients about their food service experience and any issues they had. I then reported any feedback pertaining to the diet aids, chef, and/or management through a final report for a course of corrective action. The second part of this project was to check the tray line for three days in a row to evaluate the efficiency. Our goal was 100%, but after checking the line, we scored an error-free rate of 99%. I got to know the flow of the line through watching employees check the line, see how the supplements were prepared to be sent to the floors, and I witnessed the importance of getting the food delivered in a timely manner. After that, the final responsibility was to make sure the extra milk, juices, applesauce, and Jell-O used throughout the day for med pass were still holding safe temperatures. We scored a 100% on expiration dates. I appreciated this experience; I got to see how the food service system runs in a hospital setting outside of what the clinical dietitians do on a daily basis. What kind of food service programs have you noticed in your clinical or food service management rotation that need’s improvement?
