Food is an important component of any stay in a hospital, and the Nutrition and Food Services team at Northern Health are always looking for ways to improve the enjoyment of patient meals while also reducing their carbon footprint.
Food services at the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC) in Prince George and G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital in Quesnel will soon be accomplishing both goals with the implementation of the CBORD patient app.
Starting on September 25, patients at UHNBC and at G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital will be able to download the CBORD patient app on their mobile devices. CBORD is the food service technology used by the hospital to manage menus and patient meal assignment. By using this app patients will be able to choose what they want to eat for the next day’s meals, right from their phone or tablet.
Besides improving the patient experience, the goal of this work is to reduce food waste and reduce malnutrition.
Hospital malnutrition is considered a patient safety issue around the world. Globally, one in two adult patients and one in three pediatric patients, with a stay of two or more days are malnourished during their hospital stay.
Currently, patients have limited choice over what they get on their meal trays which leads to increased food waste. Studies have found that food waste contributes to as much as 8% of greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that reducing it through patient choice is better for the patient and for the planet.
The CBORD patient app is the next step in expanding patient choice. UHNBC and G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital currently offer choice to patients on select wards, via the room service choice model, where a food service ambassador takes meal selection for the next day with the patients. The Food Service Coordinator at UHNBC reported a significant reduction in the amount of food being wasted since the patients have been able to choose their meals.
The CBORD patient app will allow patients to choose their next day's meal based on their diet and preferences and will be initially launched at UHNBC and G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital on Sept 25, 2023 with the hope to expand to other sites in the future.
For directions on how to download and use the CBORD Patient app, please visit our website.
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