Hospitals Keeping People Unhealthy

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There are many patients who benefit from a strong advocate (in this and all care) while in the hospital.
 
Shakuhachi said:
I don’t get it. The American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American Cancer Association, American Diabetes Association and American Medical Association, among others, have recommended limiting saturated fat and trans fat, red meat, sodium and added sugars. That means, minimizing intake of processed meats such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs and fried foods. And yet all those products are served to patients, families and staff in hospitals. Yes, I know, it is all part of our culture. Having a get together with hotdogs and hamburgers seem to be the American way to relax and have fun. Meanwhile our rates for adult diabetes, cancer mortality, heart disease mortality, stroke mortality and obesity drive up healthcare costs, not to mention kill people.

I guess I am just frustrated at what I see.
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When I was in the hospital with a raging kidney infection, the last think that they were concerned about was a “healthy” diet. The menu was pretty healthy but they actually replaced my milk with ensure and gave me pudding from the nurse’s station in order to pack on the calories. Mostly because the high-caloric items that they once relied on were gone.

As far as bugers and dogs at family parties…Americans have lost touch with the sense of celebration and rarity. Either people eat modestly and are diet nuts or they eat terribly. Sunday dinners with lean weekdays are basically unheard of.
 
He can start with Ascension Hospitals.

Becker’s Hospital Review published a column penned by Tony Tersigni, president and CEO of Ascension, about innovative care models that will transform healthcare. Tony notes that Ascension has set a bold goal of eliminating preventable disparities in health outcomes by 2022 saying: “We must design models that incentivize providers, individuals and communities to work together to maintain health rather than overemphasize treatment only when an individual is sick.”
 
The food in our hospital system seems to be like this, too, in general.

I only had a general diet tray once, and that was because I was admitted later in the day before a doctor could order what they wanted me to have regarding meals for the duration of my stay.

I then had a Cardiologist taking care of my meals for me, so I was on a low-sodium, lower-carb. type of a diet tray.

The food is very good in our hospital system.

Even if you want to eat in the hospital cafeteria, it’s also really good and you can also make some really healthy food choices, too.

They have a chef who makes the food there for the patients.

Even for a low-sodium diet, it’s very good.

I have to watch what I eat overall, so I’m used to cooking my food that way at home anyway, but people often are surprised when I tell them that the in-patient food there is really good.

I think that it is, but it might be more difficult to adapt to it for someone who eats more sodium lets say, to go from a higher-sodium diet, to a lower-sodium diet, for example, or to go from eating butter to a plant-based butter-like spread, too.

You also get quite a bit to eat as well.

At least I did, and sometimes I would have the nursing staff put my salad and dessert snack aside for later–my fruit cup/apple sauce for example, as I was eating more there than I normally would at home.
 
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They definitely feed you well. Mama has a small stomach, always has. She said they gave her enough food for an army. What they really give is a well balanced diet in reasonable amounts. But Mama is used to two spoonfuls of this and maybe 3 spoonfuls of that. That’s all her stomach can handle at one time. So they would let her share her food with me as long as she ate her 2 or 3 spoonfuls of each item on the plate. She drank water (they approved me bringing her MIO every day) and either had Boost or Ensure with every meal. And they gave her extra time to eat so that her food would stay down.
 
Try being hospitalized in saturated fat-loving France. That was an interesting experience. Butter, cream, sugar, meat of debatable leanness, (deep-)fried items - all allowed and used. Nevertheless, nothing offered to me seemed too illogical, but I’d had an operation to repair a knee injury. It wasn’t a health issue per se.

I have seen what heart patients are served at a different hospital, however. “Appalled” is an inadequate term to describe how I feel about it.
 
It it doesn’t have to be bad. That is part of the problem. A whole food plant based healthy diet can be delicious. All it takes is a little culinary retraining. But most places have no idea.
 
I’ve heard the former NY Lt Gov talk of how one should bring a good disinfectant for a hospital stay. The medics don’t always wash up between room visits, it seems.
 
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My son was hospitalized at a children’s hospital a few years ago. The food was actually pretty tasty, and healthy.
 
There are always some lapses. A lot of times they wash outside the room and it isn’t seen. More and more staff make a point of washing in front of the patient.

Hand washing; most useful infection control measure in or outside a hospital.
 
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