Saint Barnabas Medical Center Implements Room Service

Dec. 27, 2011 - PRLog -- Room Service is now available for many of patients at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. This new program allows patients to order their meal from a menu that offers diverse and extensive meal choices to meet patient preferences.  The service operates between the hours of 6:30 am to 10:00 pm. After 6:30 pm, the after-hours menu is available.  Meals can be delivered as late as 11:00 pm.

Patients call and place their order during the hours of operation.  Each meal is delivered to the patient’s room within 30-45 minutes after they call, unless the patient chooses a later time. “This new service allows our patients the opportunity to see how they are feeling, pick something appealing and order their meal when they are ready to eat, states Chris Patnosh, Director, Food and Nutrition, Sodexo at Saint Barnabas Medical Center.  Since every meal is cooked to order, the meal selections can be modified for restricted diets, allergies and food preferences.  

The new program has safeguards in place to prevent people from missing meals.  If an individual forgets to order, an attendant will visit the individual to take their order. “So far, our patients have been very happy with this new system and we find that there is less waste,” states Ms. Patnosh.

For people who prefer a more traditional dining arrangement, the hospital continues to offer Expressly for You, a traditional menu with a twist.  Instead of submitting your meal order in the morning for that evening, an attendant visits the patient about an hour and a half before lunch and dinner and obtains the individual’s meal choices.  Patients appreciate the ability to make their menu selections closer to meal time and appreciate the wide variety of choices available.

So, whether you have room service or traditional meal service at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, the changes in the system provide more choices, closer to mealtime, so patients can receive the food they choose, when they want to eat it; The result, a happier patient.

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Saint Barnabas Medical Center is a 597-bed, acute care teaching hospital. For more information call 1-888-724-7123.