Business & Tech

West Bloomfield Hospital Joins National Initiative to Offer Healthful Food Options

An increased selection of fruits and vegetables and a daily wellness meal are part of the hospital's participation in Partnership for a Healthier America.

Over the next three years, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital will provide even more healthful food options for its patient room service and cafeterias.

For its participation in Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), Henry Ford Health System has pledged to do the following at all of its hospitals:

  • Labeling items with calories per serving in patient menus and the cafeteria, and displaying only health-promoting food options.
  • Removing all fryers and deep- fat fried foods.
  • Boosting the percentage of fruits and vegetables purchased by 20 percent.
  • Offering a daily wellness meal that meets healthy nutrition standards and is priced less than or equal to other meal options.
  • Ensuring that at least 60 percent of a la carte entrees and side dishes meet healthy nutrition guidelines.
  • Increasing the percentage of healthy beverages purchased to 80 percent, e.g., water, 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, unflavored milk and unsweetened non-dairy milk, unsweetened teas and coffee.

“Making healthy foods easily available for our patients, employees and guests is part of our overall commitment of providing quality health care,” said Bethany Thayer, a registered dietitian and director of Henry Ford’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. “We’re proud to help set a national benchmark for serving healthy food options in our cafeterias.”

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Henry Ford is one of 16 health systems nationally, and the only one in Michigan, teaming up with the PHA’s Hospital Healthy Food Initiative. To ensure its partner hospitals meet their pledges, the PHA requires that pledges carry time-sensitive deadlines and be verified by an independent third party.

Henry Ford’s participation in the PHA is the evolution of its culinary wellness model established five years ago to deliver healthier food options. In 2011 alone, Henry Ford removed more than 13,000 pounds of fat from its meals by removing deep fryers and fry shortening, purchasing leaner cuts of meat and using less fat in food preparation. Cutting out fry shortening also saved more than $28,000.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Thayer says food selections are prepared healthier, without compromising taste and nutrition, and patient meals are tailored to medical conditions. 

Source: Henry Ford Health System press release


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from West Bloomfield