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A new program at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital aims to give kids in care a little more menu choices.
The hospital’s new “Ready Set Eat” program aims to add more variety and customization to the way kids can order food during their in the hospital stay.
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Expectant moms can also order from the new program, according to the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital statement issued Friday.
Andrew Will is the CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Authority and said that the program’s main focus is to give their patients more meal options.
“It’s having items on the menu that are healthy, having items that also support different diets that kids and families may have, but also the ability to choose comfort foods that are important to those kids too,” said Will.
“We have a really good variety of menu items that are on the menu that the kids themselves or parents can order from as well,” he said.
Through the program, children or parents can call or use a digital app created by the hospital to order different food items that are tailored to meet local, seasonal, and cultural food preferences.
Within roughly 45 minutes, those meals are then delivered to patients when they are ready to eat, providing flexibility.
When it comes to things like upcoming surgeries or dietary restrictions, Will said that the menu has been catered to address those specific needs.
“We do know that some of the patients that we have, some of the kids that are here in our care, do have special diets,” he said.
“What’s special about that is that they don’t have to worry so much about things that they can’t choose. They have special menus for what they are able to choose from,” said Will.
Stephanie Cook is the executive director of Nutrition and Food Services with the SHA and said that the program will have a diet office whose focus will be to monitor what’s being ordered.
“It ensures that everything that they’re served is in alignment with their diet order, so it avoids any risks of any issues with an allergen or a food that needs to be restricted for whatever reason,” she said.
“So there are many checks and balances along the way to make sure that kids get the meal intended for them and that it’s safe and that it encourages them to eat it,” said Cook.
She also said that there will be some limitations as to how much food a patient can order in a day.
“So, for example, you can only have a maximum of two breakfast sandwiches at a time, and any really excessive orders, we will meet with that child and have a discussion, often with their dietitian as well,” said Cook.
The program officially began in October, and according to staff, their patients have already picked a few favourites off the menu.
Some of those favourite foods were things like pepperoni pizzas, pancakes, chicken nuggets, smoothies, and breakfast sandwiches.
The new program was made possible thanks to a one-time funding of $554,771 from both the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Thistledown Foundation.
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