Hospital Food

[ElsieD]

Speaking from personal experience, the observation area in the ER has a fridge, so if you are admitted to it, you can always get a free bite to eat.  

[MaryIsobel]

According to a nurses that I spoke to, our local hospital that I was in, which is nowhere near the size of VGH, used to have menus before Covid. Apparently the food comes from Edmonton now! It wasn't inedible, just very bland and unappealing and no choices were given. That being said, the care that I received from everyone was top notch!

[MetsFan5]

I had the same experience Kim had during a hospital stay 4 years ago. The food was honestly really good. 
 

ETA— the food at my local hospital has always been good from what I know. My mom was given a bottle of champagne and offered surf and turf when I was born (1980). 
 

 I volunteered there for a long time and the cafeteria was great then. The options are great to have, and the food is cooked in house. 
 

 The hospital center has a lot of national recognition which my parents have flat out said that’s why they want to stay in their home (they live about 2 miles away). 
 

 This photo, of a husband whose wife was in Morristown Medical Center during Covid went viral, and still gives me chills:

 

 

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by MetsFan5 (log)

[gfweb]

4 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Well, I certainly appreciated the food, but I'd trade universal healthcare for a menu any day.  I know your system isn't perfect, but ours is shameful.  

Be careful what you wish for.

 

[Katie Meadow]

Wow, what a dubious honor to be able to post experience in this thread. Now I realize how incredibly spoiled and privileged I am. Just got home yesterday afternoon from four nights in the hospital after fracturing my hip. So weird knowing I now have titanium body parts. Only because I haven't spent time in a hospital for many years, the food seems worse than ever, way worse than airline food, frankly. By the last day I figured out that the "choose your own omelet" wasn't bad and you could opt for actual fresh spinach. The steamed broccoli and carrots were real vegetables and were plain and not tampered with. We brought our own butter and salt and that was a tolerable option. Thursday chef's special was roast turkey breast and mashed potatoes. The turkey was actually not bad, plain, even moist and redolent of thanksgiving. The mash potatoes were inedible. My guess is they were reconstituted with water. No bread was even tolerable. The concept of toast escapes them. The pancakes were like slabs of recycled cardboard. All salad dressings were disgusting. Because they use minimal salt they overcompensate with dry herbs and spices. I know I haven't used canned beans in many years, but the black beans were indescribably bad.  The English Muffins were third tier something, served sort of warm but not actually toasted and were powdery and very very strange.

 

The menu was extensive and not appealing. They gave you a choice of fresh fruit cup or canned! You could order a cup of one kind of fresh fruit, and the grapes were good. The hospital insists you order three meals a day and encourages large amounts in every order. I ate less than half of anything. In other words my husband had plenty to eat. The crackers and cheeses from home saved my life and a friend brought me some excellent cookies.

 

I learned why so many people in America love oxycodone. The staff was amazing in every way, from doctors to janitors. I got a ride home in a gurney transport from two hilarious guys. Whatever they had been smoking I wish they would have offered me some. Their GPS on board was, of all things, a MAN who gave them insane directions to the house, but that was the highlight of the four days. The three of us were in stitches, the good kind. 

[blue_dolphin]

I'm very sorry about your broken hip, @Katie Meadow and happy you are home, complete with titanium body parts and sense of humor intact! 

Couldn't pick a single "reaction" emoji to encapsulate that so I had to post! 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Sorry indeed about your mishap and confounded by your horrible food.    Next time, and I hope there isn't one, opt for CPMC Van Ness in SF.    Truly outstanding food.   Order yourself from an extensive menu.  Delivered individually within 20 minutes.     Great orthopaedic care.  

Edited February 17 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[Maison Rustique]

Hope you are back on your feet and eating great food very soon!!

 

[Katie Meadow]

Thanks to all well-wishers. Just having my husband's French toast this morning was a total thrill!

 

Edited February 17 by Katie Meadow
Edited for spelling error. Drugs must be making me loopy (log)

[FauxPas]

@Katie Meadow, hope you are not in pain and fully mobile soon! 

[MaryIsobel]

From a fellow titanium hip owner - I was amazed at how quickly I was quite mobile. Nor far or fast at first but I was walking without mechanical aid of any kind after about my 5th day at home. I wish the same for you.

[liuzhou]

Although I started this topic and have had more than my fair share to contribute to it recently, I always feel disturbed when I see it revived.

 

Wishing you a speedy recovery @Katie Meadow and sorry to read of your pitiful sustenance during your incarceration. 

 

I will say that it was the medical staff who kept me sane during my four hospital stays last year. I actually missed them after I was discharged last time.

 

Not usually anything to miss about hospital stays.

 

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

4 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Although I started this topic and have had more than my fair share to contribute to it recently, I always feel disturbed when I see it revived.

 

Wishing you a speedy recovery @Katie Meadow and sorry to read of your pitiful sustenance during your incarceration. 

 

I will say that it was the medical staff who kept me sane during my four hospital stays last year. I actually missed them after I was discharged last time.

 

Not usually anything to miss about hospital stays.

 

 

 

Thanks. Yes the thread that pop up that make me queasy are this Hospital Food and the Never Again...thread

[TdeV]

@Katie Meadow, so pleased to hear your cheerful voice! Warm wishes for speedy recovery.

[Kim Shook]

I was in the hospital for a few days last week.  I had pneumonia and managed to cough my way into an abdominal hematoma (?????  I had no idea that that was a thing).  The hospital was part of the same corporation as the one I was in back last summer.  The food there was surprisingly good, as I reported.  This one was less so.  Still, better than other hospitals I’ve been to and what others have reported.  One nice thing (no idea if this is common) is that you can order a guest meal, free of charge.  So, Mr. Kim didn’t have to go foraging for meals while I was there.  Here’s a sample of what I had. 

 

This was the only meal that I didn’t specifically order.  I was admitted too late to order lunch, so this is what they automatically sent:

Fruit, glazed carrots, grilled chicken, and rice pilaf.  The fruit was mostly cantaloupe and honeydew, neither of which I like.  I don’t eat cooked carrots.  The chicken was tender, but seriously over-peppered (and I love pepper) and the pilaf was simply brown rice – cooked ok, though.  I did order dinner:

This was much better.  A really nice salad (terrible salad dressing, though – some fat free raspberry balsamic mess) and good egg salad.  I also was able to order breakfast the next day:

This was kind of comical.  The peaches were tasteless.  You can’t tell, but the SINGLE pancake was about 3-inches wide.  But it was cooked perfectly and tasted really good.  I’m sure it was from a mix, but I was happy with the flavor.  Even the sugar free syrup was ok.  They forgot my bacon, though. 

Lunch:

This was really good.  Vegetable soup that was obviously made there.  Some of the vegetables were certainly frozen, but the carrots and potatoes were fresh, I think.  Nice flavor, too.  And then just a simple, good tuna salad sandwich. 

For dinner, with trepidation, I ordered a burger:

I was pleasantly surprised.  It was pretty good.  Juicy, nice char and it tasted BEEFY.  The only issue was that they didn’t send any mustard.  What kind of animals are working in that kitchen😁??  Another nice salad (I got smart and got Mr. Kim to smuggle in a packet of Caesar from the cafeteria).  And I’m sure that there’s a piece of fruit somewhere – I think I requested either an apple or banana with every meal. 

My last meal before being discharged (yay!):

Decently scrambled eggs (they were even warm), under-toasted toast, and they remembered my pork! 

[TdeV]

@Kim Shook, thank you for thinking of us! It's nice to see you posting. Your voice (in your posts) sounds okay, so I'm glad to see you survived.

 

And the meals don't look too bad either. 🤣

[Maison Rustique]

@Kim Shook That is some of the best-looking hospital food I've seen. So sorry you had to go through th is. It is amazing what coughing can do to us. Many years ago, my severe coughing fractured all my ribs. Definitely not fun. Got me to quit smoking!

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Just returned from a cardiac ablation in Guadalajara at a quite nice hospital. Nursing and support staff were excellent--the food less so. The best was the dinner on the night I was admitted before I had to fast for the surgery. 3 nice meatballs with lots of vegetables in a tasty broth. In Mexico they're called "albondigas," and they're my husband's favorite meal. Some sort of unidentifiable juice, the requisite jello, some fresh fruit and a cookie. The rest of the meals went downhill, and pretty rapidly, after that. The low point was 2 halved zucchinis filled with unseasoned ground meat and then topped with melted cheese. I took a couple of bites and couldn't eat the rest. Red rice (which I dislike) and jello (of course) and chopped apple, with horchata to drink. Not sure why white rice is so often served since it tends to stop you up. And the bed killed my back. I'm still recovering from that horrid mattress.

 

And then there was the interminable delay to check out. Our insurance evidently went through the bill with tweezers to pluck out the most minor expense. I was really glad to get home, though it was a 4-hour drive.

[blue_dolphin]

13 minutes ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

Just returned from a cardiac ablation in Guadalajara at a quite nice hospital. Nursing and support staff were excellent--the food less so. The best was the dinner on the night I was admitted before I had to fast for the surgery. 3 nice meatballs with lots of vegetables in a tasty broth. In Mexico they're called "albondigas," and they're my husband's favorite meal. Some sort of unidentifiable juice, the requisite jello, some fresh fruit and a cookie. The rest of the meals went downhill, and pretty rapidly, after that. The low point was 2 halved zucchinis filled with unseasoned ground meat and then topped with melted cheese. I took a couple of bites and couldn't eat the rest. Red rice (which I dislike) and jello (of course) and chopped apple, with horchata to drink. Not sure why white rice is so often served since it tends to stop you up. And the bed killed my back. I'm still recovering from that horrid mattress.

 

And then there was the interminable delay to check out. Our insurance evidently went through the bill with tweezers to pluck out the most minor expense. I was really glad to get home, though it was a 4-hour drive.

I'm glad you are home and up to posting and that you had good nursing care.  Sorry about the food, the bed, the insurance issues and the long drive home. Sending healing thoughts! 

[TdeV]

1 hour ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

Just returned from a cardiac ablation in Guadalajara at a quite nice hospital.

 

Best wishes for a swift recovery, Nancy.

 

 

Edited May 10 by TdeV (log)

[Smithy]

This bread roll looks innocuous, doesn't it?

 

 

Thing is, I rescued it from one of my husband's uneaten hospital meals.

 

In February.

 

I had planned to use it for bread crumbs, or to make croutons, or some such, but events got in my way. Then I got curious about its apparent longevity. It still looks pristine, some 10 weeks later. I think I'm going to leave it in its wrapper and see how long it takes for something to sprout. Maybe, like the infamous wrapped Twinkie in the office of some food writer (Michael Pollan??), it will last for years. Don't think I'm going to feed it to anyone I love!

[ElsieD]

19 minutes ago, Smithy said:

This bread roll looks innocuous, doesn't it?

 

 

Thing is, I rescued it from one of my husband's uneaten hospital meals.

 

In February.

 

I had planned to use it for bread crumbs, or to make croutons, or some such, but events got in my way. Then I got curious about its apparent longevity. It still looks pristine, some 10 weeks later. I think I'm going to leave it in its wrapper and see how long it takes for something to sprout. Maybe, like the infamous wrapped Twinkie in the office of some food writer (Michael Pollan??), it will last for years. Don't think I'm going to feed it to anyone I love!

Very weird.  The roll, not you!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

We’ve experienced somewhat the same phenomenon with Artisano’s dinner rolls. 
Still “fresh” after a week, month, many months!    I worry about bread that doesn’t mold!

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

This bread roll looks innocuous, doesn't it?

 

 

Thing is, I rescued it from one of my husband's uneaten hospital meals.

 

In February.

 

I had planned to use it for bread crumbs, or to make croutons, or some such, but events got in my way. Then I got curious about its apparent longevity. It still looks pristine, some 10 weeks later. I think I'm going to leave it in its wrapper and see how long it takes for something to sprout. Maybe, like the infamous wrapped Twinkie in the office of some food writer (Michael Pollan??), it will last for years. Don't think I'm going to feed it to anyone I love!

I've had a pack of Wonder brand English muffins (this is why I seldom let other people shop for me...) go missing in my cupboard for 8 months, and still be mold-free and apparently edible when they were discovered. I found that extremely disconcerting, and did not put them to the test.

[MaryIsobel]

I have a McGavin's bagel that I am currently monitoring. It is at least 2 months old. Wrapped in the original bag, sitting at room temperature. I have a weird and probably unhealthy obsession with it.