By Julie Roven / NPR Blog – The Salt
Twice a week, local seniors in Warrenton, Virginia, flock to a hip new dinner spot called the Bistro on the Hill for good food, a great view, and musical accompaniment by a retired piano player from a nearby Nordstrom’s.
Only “The Bistro” is no stand-alone restaurant. It’s the cafeteria of Fauquier Hospital, one of a new group of “patient-centered” health facilities focused on meeting more than just people’s medical needs. Fauquier is one of about a dozen U.S. hospitals certified by a group called Planetree, which sets strict standards for patient-centered care.
And when it comes to patient-centered care, food is more than just something you eat.
“We believe that food is nurturing,” says Zach Erickson, Fauquier’s director of nutrition services. And for many hospitalized patients, “we [food servers] are the best distraction they have throughout the day, I like to think.”
That’s right from Planetree’s checklist, which calls for highlighting the “nutritional and nurturing aspects of food.” It’s not the kind of hospital where you’ll find a McDonalds, that’s for sure. And you don’t have to pay extra to get it.
