Groundbreaking New CIA Course Prepares Students to Improve Food Quality in Healthcare Facilities
The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) has launched a first-of-its-kind course to raise the quality of food served at hospitals and other healthcare facilities nationwide. Foodservice Management in Health Care (MGMT 411) is an elective business-management course for second-semester CIA seniors. It is believed no other college course of this nature is being offered at this time.
With the aging American population, people are spending more time in hospitals, rehab centers, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Foodservice plays an important role in both the health and quality of life of patients and residents. At the same time, managing budgets is also important. The new CIA course introduces students to the challenges of running a healthcare foodservice operation and prepares them for management positions in that field.
“Healthcare comprises a wide variety of businesses—large and small, public and private. The common feature of all these operations is the need to provide wholesome and nutritious meals consistent with each person's medical needs,” says CIA instructor Lynne Eddy, a registered dietitian and former hospital foodservice director. “Managing a department of nutrition and foodservice is complex, and this unique course teaches students about these challenges.”
Foodservice Management in Health Care provides an overview of this type of culinary career, and covers topics ranging from kitchen operations, nutrition principles and menu planning to procurement and purchasing, patient confidentiality and even the effect of new healthcare reform laws. These subjects will be taught through in-class lectures; guest speakers such as CEOs and foodservice directors of regional healthcare facilities; and visits to hospitals, including New York City's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
For one of the first class sessions, students visited Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and received an orientation to the hospital's extensive foodservice operation. For the capstone project of this course, students will integrate what they learn with their previous three-plus years of CIA studies in both food and management to develop recommendations for improving healthcare foodservice. They will present their recommendations to the executive leadership of three Hudson Valley hospitals in March.
This course is one element of the college’s overall thrust to improve nutrition and health by demonstrating the inextricable link between diet and wellness. Other initiatives include the Worlds of Healthy Flavors Conference and the CIA and Harvard School of Public Health's Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives Leadership Conference, each held annually at the college's Greystone campus in St. Helena, Calif.