The Washington Hospital Upgrades Food Options

The Washington Hospital has partnered with Cura Hospitality, a leading specialist in healthcare and acute care dining, to provide a fresh and local dining experience with an emphasis on enhancing patient satisfaction. 

Partnering with a quality-driven organization that lives, works and contributes within the same community The Washington Hospital serves was a priority in the selection process. 

“We liked the opportunity to partner with a local organization that has a strong passion for food and people. Their great reputation for high-quality food, patient satisfaction and service complements our vision to be the regional health care system of choice for patients, physicians and employees in Washington and surrounding counties,” said Brook Ward, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Cura will enhance current patient services with its signature Completely Satisfied guest services model, which has achieved peer-leading patient satisfaction results. 

Through Completely Satisfied, Washington Hospital patients have their dining orders taken in person by a dining assistant who focuses on each patient’s specific health and dietary needs as well as their personal preferences. 

The Cura team will meet regularly with The Washington Hospital staff to design food choices that will help speed the healing process for post-operative and post-injury patients. Cura also assists in identifying nutritionally at-risk patients and recommends proactive plans to help keep them nourished.

Dining assistants are also provided with cell phones and pagers for instant communication with patients and enhanced interaction with nurses, patients and managers at all levels.

Cura offers healthier dining options by combining a farm-fresh approach to food preparation, while providing the clinical expertise that speeds the healing process. Cura was one of the first healthcare food providers in the U.S. to eliminate trans fatty acids from its menu. Cura has also made substantial commitments to promoting healthier lifestyles with Healthier Tomorrow, which identifies healthier choices in the café and promotes wellness initiatives including preventative health screening services, health education and nutrition workshops for patients and members of the community. 

Food is prepared by executive chefs from scratch using local agriculture sourced through FarmSource, a sustainable sourcing program. Through FarmSource, Cura and its parent, Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, purchases $23 million in local foods from farmers and producers of food we support within a 125-mile radius, which greatly reduces the distance food travels from harvest to table.  

“Cura offers Something for Everybody—expanded café menu offerings for care-giving staff, guests and visitors. This allows for welcomed 'recharge' meal breaks, including items like fresh-made pizza, seasonal salad bar, made-just-in-time grill, and hearty home-style cooking as well,” said Kimmi Campagna, Cura director of partnership development.

For those who choose, or are too busy to eat in the café, an extensive selection of On-the-Go items, made daily, will be the solution they have sought, including entrée salads, sandwiches, snacks, parfaits and desserts. Most appropriate to healthcare, our outstanding “Healthy Interruption Points” will showcase colorful, appropriately sized, healthier choice snacks like homemade granola bars, yogurt raisins, trail mixes, and local fresh produce and fruit snack options to promote choices that are both tasty and good for you. 

The Washington Hospital and Cura will also partner to make complete renovation improvements to the retail café to elevate flow of service, ease of use and more seating options to become a welcoming  spot for all.

“We look forward to improving the dining options for our patients, staff and visitors, while creating a wonderful environment for our guests to eat in every day,” said Ward.