Patients admitted to the hospital who need nutrition support are referred to one of our three dietitians. They work to ensure each diet meets medical requirements, aids recovery, and helps prevent complications related to malnutrition.
How do patients select their meals? Patients on our acute medicine floors receive a paper menu of meal options based on their diet order. Patients select what they would like to eat for each meal, and their selections are sent directly to the diet office, who reviews and prints the orders for preparation.
All Patients in the Stroke Unit & Continuing Care Centre, who have longer hospital stays, place their orders in real time with a Dietary Aide. For patients on specialized diets (cardiac, diabetic, renal) can be seen by a Dietitian to develop a personalized meal plan to meet the patients’ nutritional needs.
This is one of our talented cooks. Today, he’s chopping fresh produce that will soon become crisp, colourful salads for our patients.
This is the main food preparation area, where our team works together to prepare meals for our patients every day.
We could all dream of an oven like this at home! Here, the cook slides in a tray of chicken breasts, ready to cook them to perfection for our patients’ meals.
When the meals come out of the oven, the cook checks their temperature, making sure every dish meets safety standards before it heads to the patients.
Smoothie, anyone? Freshly blended and full of flavor, these smoothies are a favourite treat for many of our patients.
Here’s a glimpse into the kitchen prep area, where our staff are hard at work behind the scenes, carefully preparing each meal to ensure every patient is well-nourished and satisfied.
The kitchen is equipped with two walk-in coolers, like the one shown here, and a large freezer. These storage spaces keep perishables fresh and ready, ensuring ingredients are on hand throughout the week for meal preparation..
The dietary aides carefully review each printed order and organize them, setting the stage for the kitchen team to start preparing meals. Their attention to detail helps ensure every patient receives the right meal, exactly when they need it.
The plating process begins with care and attention. Here, breakfast is being prepared for one of our inpatients.
Next, the dietary aides carefully add the cold items to the tray - juice, milk, and/or fruit – making sure each meal is complete and ready to brighten a patient’s day.
The trays are neatly stacked onto a cart, each one ready to make its journey to patients across the hospital, delivering not just food, but a moment of care.
Using a dedicated elevator that runs straight from the kitchen to the acute medicine floors, the team ensures each tray travels safely and efficiently, so patients receive their meals hot and ready to enjoy.
The calm before the storm! After every meal, the Dish Room is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, readying the space for the next round of trays.
After each meal, the team swings into action. One staff member strips the trays, another sorts the dishes and stacks them neatly, while a third loads the dish machine, ensuring everything is quickly washed, sanitized, and ready for the next meal.
Once the dishes are sparkling clean, they are unloaded from the dishwasher and put away, making sure the dishes are ready and organized for the next service.
The kitchen staff prepare approx. 22,000 sandwiches per year. These sandwiches are made fresh daily for patient meals and to stock all patient kitchenettes.
Each day, staff review inventory and place meal orders, making sure all the food and supplies are on hand to bring the week’s menu to life.
Our patient kitchenettes are stocked daily to provide patients and their families convenient access to light snacks and beverages outside of scheduled meal times. Kitchenettes are stocked with items that complement the hospitals meal service while maintaining safety and dietary standards.