of Patient Feeding VA Summit Explores Procurement and Diet Planning

Transcription

1 CONFERENCE WRAP-UP V BOTH SIDES of Patient Feeding VA Summit Explores Procurement and Diet Planning A This year s Veteran Administration (VA) Nutrition Summit brought together procurement and preparation, as managed by the VA s Nutrition and Food Service (NFS), with the Clinical Nutrition Support s patient dietary planning side. Held May 10 14, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel La Jolla, Calif., the summit contained two learning tracks, one for subsistence prime vendor contracts and another for Clinical Nutritional Support, plus a one-day, two-hour exhibit featuring 40 vendors participating in either the Procurement Plus Program or having VA National Dietary Supplement and Tube-Feeding contracts. The VA s Office of Acquisition and Logistics is responsible for purchasing foodservice items, cooking, delivery to patients and working with Clinical to set menus. Clinical Nutrition Support, meanwhile, assesses the nutritional needs of patients, including whether they need oral or tube feeding. Continued 118 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE JULY 2010

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3 CONFERENCE WRAP-UP 120 See us at DSCP booth 414 A joint educational session, for example, touched on basics and new initiatives in the Veterans Administration, such as monitoring patients, satisfying food safety requirements, healthy snacks and moving food service in the direction of an assisted-living style, private-industry model. Long term, the plan is for VA rehabilitation care to become more home- or family-style and give patients more influence over meal choices within the same service menu, such as determining a nutritional alternative that accommodates a patient who may not want breakfast, but does want a meal. Already, several VA sites have adopted this model and more are moving to it, explained Jeanne Myscofski, program analyst, Veterans Administration, Office of Acquisition and Logistics. It s kind of changed our model, she said. Another example is patients having a choice of food that is wheeled in to dining rooms on carts and plated in front of them instead of taking the entrée of the day served on a tray. They can make a choice and they can smell the food more, Myscofski explained. OTHER CHANGES Purchasing is changing as well. Variety remains important, but the emphasis is shifting toward easyto-prepare items already butchered and cooked from scratch. I think we re going back to that, she said. We re trying to do a little bit more of the prep. To achieve variety, a main menu item, such as pork chops, is made with sauces that are prepared on site or stir-fried to give patients different choices. Dietary planning is also changing as the VA moves toward more healthful choices. One step is Continued

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5 CONFERENCE WRAP-UP the VA Healthy Diet Initiative, which shifts the emphasis to increasing fiber and whole grains, reducing cholesterol and saturated fat, lowering sodium content and cutting down on the sugar content of daily menus. Another is the special interest being paid by the VA to vegan, vegetarian, soy-based and gluten-free items. Ready-to-eat eat packed items are a favorite as the VA aims to con- portiontrol labor costs while meeting patient-specific needs. Myscofski expects the number of vendors NFS works with through its Prime Vendor contract will remain the same under the emerging model because manufacturers are expanding lines with items that meet requirements, such as low-sodium, low-fact and higher fiber. Vendor participation was limited to 40 in San Diego, which represents the highest volume, but the VA has close to 60 programs. For example, she said, NFS makes about 60 percent of purchases through the 60 vendors participating in the Procurement Plus Program (PPL). Introducing more vendors to PPL risks diluting NFS buying power and ability to negotiate better prices. NFS reviews vendors annu- ally, but the contract is for five years. U.S. Foodservice is the com- mon broker for NFS, Clinical Nutrition Support and Veterans Canteen Service. NFS manages food service for VA Hospital patient feeding Clinical Nutrition Support. Canteen buys for outpatients, those who were treated in VA hospitals and continue treatment in outpatient care facilities. It also buys for retail shops and vending in VA hospitals. Cooking was consolidated into VA hospitals using VA Nutrition and Food Service staff to do the cooking. Food cooked is used in the VA hospitals and outpatient treatment centers. Teaming up with Clinical Nutrition Support brought NFS closer to the goal of having its own meeting, which it has been prevented from doing since 2005 because of limited funding. It s the first one we had in quite a while, Myscofski said. During that time, it joined in the meetings of other national organizations. Each year, it attended either Healthcare Foodservice Managers (HFM) or American Society of Healthcare Food Service Administrators (ASHFSA). These groups have since combined into the Association for Healthcare Foodservice (AHF). By organizing its own conference the NFS has the advantage of being able to focus on internal matters without the distraction of attending the meetings of other national associations, Myscofski explained. For the NFS to continue to have its own meetings in the future depends on whether a funding model can be worked out, and there are not yet any plans Continued 122 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE JULY 2010

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7 CONFERENCE WRAP-UP for that. Any decision on funding would wait to be included with the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. If funding is approved, Myscofski expects the meeting would follow a two-year cycle. VETERANS CANTEEN Veterans Canteen holds an annual conference in St. Louis; this was the 15th year. This year the Show and Sell, for VA retail stores (gift shops) and food service, was May 3 7. It began with an all-day training on Monday, followed by a retail show on Tuesday and Wednesday that featured 300 different vendors. Training continued on Thursday along with an hourlong afternoon food trade show that comprised 45 vendors, and the conference concluded Friday with a half day of training. In addition, there was VA Canteen manager training in the use of U.S. Foodservice s inventory system and Crane Streamware wireless vending software, which allows remote tracking of inventory and sales at each machine. Catering is an area the Canteen is working to improve on performance. Once catering was considered a necessary evil, but the Canteen spent the past three years aggressively pursuing upscale events in the VA medical centers. Notable at the food show were the growing variety of healthy eating options and new menu options, including slider hot dogs from Nathan s. Other slider sandwich choices soon to join the Canteen food court include chicken and hamburger. For us, a lot of times, it s a question of price points, said Larry Rosiere, director of food operations, Veterans Canteen Service. The advantage of introducing small-size options is that the Canteen can combine sliders, fries and a drink at a low price point that is attractive to costconscious VA customers. Cook-to-order is another popular option in the Canteen food court. Sauté stations easily convert daily, weekly or monthly from making omelets to pasta to Chinese and Mexican. Variety is increased as customers can walk up, pick from a choice of vegetables, meat and sauces. I think it s kind of a novelty, it gives the connotation of freshness, he continued. Nutrition is not to be overlooked by the VA Canteen in its food courts. It is especially important as the VA Canteen customer base includes the doctors and nurses working in the hospitals, who look for other options to suit their tastes. Healthy eating is probably a key point for us, he said. Every station offers healthy eating options. Country Cooking, for example, features a variety of heart healthy options; each is under 600 calories and low in carbohydrates and sodium. Another is Garden Gourmet, a salad station featuring 30 different toppings, where customers can pick any five as well as choose any lettuce and add any meat option. By emphasizing low price points, variety and nutrition, the Veterans Canteen improved food sales, which are up 8 percent so far in 2010 following gains of 9 percent in 2009 and 11 percent in In addition, the Canteen operates 80 stand-alone Starbucks stations in the medical centers as an upscale alternative to gourmet coffee in the cafeterias. SPORTS CLINIC Further, the Veterans Administration has a Summer Sports Clinic in San Diego, Calif., in September. It is a rehabilitation event created for wounded veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEI) in Iraq. The intent is to get them to overcome their disability. Last year, it had 80 members; for 2010, the target is 100. GFS 124 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE JULY 2010

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