A question about food

[PaulBaxter]

I'm the sort of person who likes to think about logistical problems and how to solve them. It occurred to me recently that there's a pretty obvious way to help nurses use their lunch time a bit more efficiently, i.e. allow them to order food from food service and have it sent to the floor, as opposed to having the staff need to go to the cafeteria to pick it up.

So my question is: have any of the hospitals you are working in tried out this idea?

(I don't need to hear about "I like to bring food from home" or "I like getting off the floor for a break". This idea is just about the OPTION to order food and have it brought to you.)

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

Nurses can do that already and order Chinese,Pizza and from other food service delivery services that charge a delivery fee. If you are talking about having a hospital cafeteria deliver food directly to the nurses, I do not see that happening. Their focus is on the patients and I do not believe that they would do that for their staff. Are they going to do this for all staff or just the nurses? That could be a problem.

I do believe that hospital administrators need to take a few lessons from Google and other companies that demonstrate how they value their employees. Happy employees are highly productive,creative and there is a higher retention rate.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I don't see something like a this as worth my money.

1. Can't guarantee that my lunch is going to be at a set time. That means far too much of a chance of either having nothing in time, or it's cold and greasy before I get to eat. (Same thing happens when ordering pizza or any other delivery from a restaurant.)

2. Most likely going to be more expensive than bringing in leftovers. My facility, while offering staff a discount, still charges an arm and a leg for poor quality, cheap, institutional food. I can't imagine that having food dropped off on the unit is going to be free- it'll probably come with an upcharge for the service. I can pack a full lunch for what the cafeteria charges for just a cheap burger like what I can get from the $1 menu at McDonald's. Not that I'm always in the mood for leftovers, but much more friendly to my bank account.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

My facility is always short staffed, the norm these days. They would never consider catering to the staff, even for a fee. The focus is patients and families.

Furthermore, I can prepare high quality, healthy meals for a fraction of the cost of the poor quality grease that is usually served at work.

[Luckyyou, BSN, RN]

We order a LOT of GrubHub Better food, and most likely no mice in the restaurants we order from (as opposed to the cafeteria...).

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

Furthermore, I can prepare high quality, healthy meals for a fraction of the cost of the poor quality grease that is usually served at work.

This. I don't like to go out to eat a lot, even when I work. I prefer to bring food from home & eat healthier meals.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

The food offered on the patient's menu (the food that the cafeteria will deliver to the floor) is subpar to the selections available in cafeterias everywhere I've ever worked/been a patient. The cafeteria can barely keep up with the demand from patients, it can take hours for their trays to be delivered, nowhere is going to do this for staff.

[BonnieSc]

We do this sometimes. Same price as for patients' visitors. But I don't see how it helps nurses use their time more efficiently unless staffing is so bad the nurse only has ten minutes off. The problem isn't the time it takes to get to the cafeteria, it's either the workload or the nurse's poor time management.