OPERATIONS ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S NORTHWEST HOSPITAL: CARING FOR KIDS AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE
“ As a culture, we’ve gotten away from playing with your food and having fun. But when they got to play with their food, it became something fun and led to them eating—which was life-changing.” - Chef Cody Dodson
will go to the store and get them ramen noodles, because our goal is to comfort them with what they want.” Recently, the mother of one young patient came to the team with news and gratitude: Her child had gone from four tube feedings a day to just one— because they enjoyed the new menu so much and actually wanted to eat. They especially loved a French toast-style bread pudding that Dodson created in individualized loaf pans to main- tain an appealing texture, as well as a paintable ketchup. “We gave them the ketchup with these tiny pastry brushes, and they could paint it on their chicken tenders,” Dodson says. “As a culture, we’ve got- ten away from playing with your food and having fun. But when they got to play with their food, it became some- thing fun and led to them eating— which was life-changing.” The child’s mother couldn’t wait to share that their tube feedings had declined by 75%. It’s moments like these—and others such as watching a child ring a bell after completing cancer treatment—that both remind the Mor- rison team why they’re here and drive their inspiration for future planning. “We’re lucky because we have that purpose-driven piece of our jobs here,” Herrmann says. “It’s giving me goose- bumps right now to think of it: We’re on our second wave of new families, and we get to know some of them so well that they come down to see us in the kitchen. It feels good to be a bright spot in the difficult days.” “We take care of the little people—and the people who take care of the little people.”
GET TO KNOW MORRISON HEALTHCARE AT ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S NORTHWEST HOSPITAL’S MEGAN HERRMANN
See what’s in store for Herrmann’s operation, which was named FSD’s June Foodservice Operation of the Month. Q: What is it that makes your operation excel? Our team shows up here for the kids. They have a reason that is far beyond a paycheck, and so we have a team of people who really cares. We have a solid, strong team of people dedicated to making sure patients are taken care of. Our patient satisfaction scores are really high, and they've been consistently high for years. Now, you can't make that happen with one person. We would not be able to do all these cool things we do if I didn't have my team, which is made up of diverse backgrounds and people. I truly think the more diverse your team, the better— especially in food. That's what makes food so amazing: Everyone wants to try these different flavors and new dishes. The mix of people keeps it exciting. Q: What are your goals for the operation in the coming year? I want to make sure, as an operator, that I'm providing quality of life for my people. Frontline folks might clock in and out and do their 40 hours. But for managers in foodservice, you can end up working a lot. So, I’m in a mode right now of doing that gut check and making sure that what I'm asking of my team is doable because I want their personal and family life to come first. That can be hard in food service: There's always a fire somewhere, always some kind of problem you can tackle. But if that starts to bleed into their home life, it’ll affect work. When everything’s going well at home, they’ll be more impactful at work. So, I'm really coming into this like: We can still push the envelope, work hard, and do really cool stuff, but there's a different way to go about it. You don’t have to stress out your team by constantly asking for too much.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MORRISON HEALTHCARE
FSD QUARTERLY
Q3 2024
22
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