PAH S4 E3

A visitor to the kitchen at Peace Arch Hospital would likely be surprised to discover that very little food preparation and cooking is taking place. Warm expectations of clanging pots and pans and tantalizing aromas from freshly prepared soups and sauces would be quickly cooled by the sterile, industrial environment that actually exists.

That’s because Peace Arch, like many hospitals, converted to a “prepared and retherm” kitchen model a number of years ago (“retherm” refers to pre-cooked, mass-produced meals that are purchased from a supplier and then reheated onsite prior to serving). 

Initially viewed as a lower-cost, more efficient alternative to a full production kitchen, over time the retherm process has come to be seen as anything but practical: the ageing refrigeration and heating equipment required for retherm is expensive to maintain, and food waste from the tasteless, unappealing meals that are returned mostly untouched from the hospital wards is staggering.

There’s also a human cost to retherm meals, as patients—some already arriving malnourished at the hospital—take longer to heal due to a lack of fresh, healthy meal options.

But all that will be changing as the Peace Arch Hospital Foundation gears up for a $5-million-dollar campaign to bring back chef-approved freshly prepared dishes courtesy of a state-of-the-art full production kitchen. As you’ll hear in this episode, the new facility will be based on a philosophy of “food as medicine” to help speed patient recovery while providing custom menu options for those with specific dietary or cultural food requirements.

Guests:

Chef Matthew Richmond - Manager of Support Services and Food Operations, Fraser Health

Chef Steven Courtney – Culinary Food Services Lead, Fraser Health

Amy O’Leary – Director of Philanthropy, Peace Arch Hospital Foundation

Power to Heal is hosted by Lance Peverley, a former newspaper reporter, editor of the Peace Arch News for 12 years, and a longtime resident of the White Rock/South Surrey area. 

Presented by Peace Arch Hospital Foundation in White Rock, British Columbia, Power to Heal takes you behind the scenes of an innovative hospital Foundation and introduces you to the team who find new and sometimes surprising ways to engage with the local community and help fund the best healthcare possible in the region. 

Since 1988, the Foundation has raised over $250 million for capital projects, medical equipment, and community health programs. Its passionate and caring team’s number one priority is the prudent stewardship of your gifts and the resulting positive impact on patients and medical staff at Peace Arch Hospital and the entire White Rock-South Surrey community.

Download Power to Heal wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

Media release: “Reimagining Food in Health Care: Healing Starts Here”

Donate here for the Peace Arch Hospital Foundation’s production kitchen campaign.