Hi everyone! My name is Hailey Grant and I’m a region 4 intern. I just finished up my food service management and patient services rotations at Nemours Alfred I. duPont hospital for children (Wilmington, DE) a few weeks ago, and I’m a few days away from completing my basic clinical hours at Holy Name Medical Center in (Teaneck, NJ) .... time truly flies! I was also able to attend my first FNCE! I had a great time with past and present interns. I’ve learned so much during my internship already and I’m excited for what’s to come.
Having my food service rotation at a pediatric hospital was such a unique and fun experience. One of my favorite parts of my time there was seeing Sodexo food service be included as an interdisciplinary team member within the hospital to improve patient safety and satisfaction. I was able to learn about a continuous improvement project around “safe trays.” This was a new and eye-opening concept to me. Some patients are admitted with intent to harm themselves and are placed on suicide precautions to ensure their safety. One of these precautions is that their food is delivered on a “safe tray,” which is a paper tray without any glass, aluminum, sharp utensils, etc.
Often, the hospital and Sodexo would host separate events/theme days for the patients and staff, but recently they have teamed up to coordinate events to make them hospital-wide bigger and better! I was able to participate in Harry Potter Day and Halloween, which both included festive food, games, contests, costumes, and more. I was also able to host my own “Fall Fest” theme day. Being in the hospital isn’t fun for anyone, especially kids, so it’s awesome that Sodexo is able to be a part of making these children’s hospital stays a little brighter. Since Sodexo is contracted, there is sometimes a divide between them and the hospital, but ultimately, they both have the same goals of patient safety and satisfaction, so it’s important that they work together to reach them. I think food service staff are often underappreciated because they do more “behind the scenes” work, but I’ve gotten to see and understand how important their work really is.
