Food

[Sushirolls]

Adams applauds NYC hospitals for feeding patients plant-based meals over meat by default in climate push

Eric Adams cheered NYC hospitals for serving patients plant-based meals, saying food production/consumption is the city's third-largest source of emissions.

www.foxnews.com

Hahahahahaha. This is a recipe ... for disaster. When I say disaster, I mean low press ganey scores.

An emerging realization for very large hospitals and health systems is that food served, and ability to get at non-routine meal times, greatly impact patient satisfaction scores in the hospital. You start forcing everyone onto a vegetarian diet, people are going to complain. Scores will drop, and CMS will reimburse less.

However, though, they might decrease their overall hospitalization stays, as we know, the unofficial food sign, when patients start complaining about the food they are probably ready to go.

So congratulations rest of America, NYC hospitals might be willing to race to the bottom in satisfaction scores to skew the curve for your hospital to achieve those MIPS metrics and get those CMS bonuses.

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[comp1]

Definitely concur that if you are well enough to complain about the food, plant based or not, you should probably not be in a general or psychiatric hospital. Hospital food, in my experience, is horribly unhealthy. This doesn't just go for what the patients are served, but for most stuff in the staff or visitor cafeteria too. This is clearly PR, but if it goes a little way against that, it would be nice. I don't believe fixing hospital food is the long term solution to climate change, however.

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

Definitely concur that if you are well enough to complain about the food, plant based or not, you should probably not be in a general or psychiatric hospital. Hospital food, in my experience, is horribly unhealthy. This doesn't just go for what the patients are served, but for most stuff in the staff or visitor cafeteria too. This is clearly PR, but if it goes a little way against that, it would be nice. I don't believe fixing hospital food is the long term solution to climate change, however.

I agree that hospital food (especially psychiatric hospitals and substance abuse rehab facilities) quality and nutrition should be improved. When your body is most vulnerable/compromised really isn't the time to be feeding it empty non-nutritive calories. Not so sure we should dispense with the meat altogether, though. Given the out of control charges for things in a hospital environment would it kill them to serve up some reasonably healthy food?

 

[Bartelby]

Agreed removing the choice to have meat in hospitals is a setup for a lot of unnecessary grief.

It always amazed me, though, how unhealthy hospital food is. This is especially true for residential programs I have seen. Lots of deep-fried, fast-food style rewarmed crap. If you counsel your patients about diet you have to include the caveat that a healthy diet will need to start after the program, because you will of course be force-feeding them junk for the duration of their stay.

 

[Sushirolls]

Places like Cleveland Clinic, went the other direction. So good.
Cafeteria would even have vendors rotate through on different days.
Hotels connected to the hospital that you could get amazing meals.
Sushi restaurant, too.
Gastronomic glory.

 

[Dantes]

I mean on paper this would be more nutritious and better than what they usually give people in the hospital, regardless of the focus on emissions which does feel like PR. However, you can easily make a plant-based diet as bad as processed deli meat, so I'd like to see what they're actually rolling out. But could be a step in the right direction.

Also, "climate cult"...what a headline

 

[Mad Jack]

Adams applauds NYC hospitals for feeding patients plant-based meals over meat by default in climate push

Eric Adams cheered NYC hospitals for serving patients plant-based meals, saying food production/consumption is the city's third-largest source of emissions.

www.foxnews.com

Hahahahahaha. This is a recipe ... for disaster. When I say disaster, I mean low press ganey scores.

An emerging realization for very large hospitals and health systems is that food served, and ability to get at non-routine meal times, greatly impact patient satisfaction scores in the hospital. You start forcing everyone onto a vegetarian diet, people are going to complain. Scores will drop, and CMS will reimburse less.

However, though, they might decrease their overall hospitalization stays, as we know, the unofficial food sign, when patients start complaining about the food they are probably ready to go.

So congratulations rest of America, NYC hospitals might be willing to race to the bottom in satisfaction scores to skew the curve for your hospital to achieve those MIPS metrics and get those CMS bonuses.

Vegetarian diets also have mixed findings with regard to mental health, which irks me when they state that they have clear benefits for mental health. There are multiple studies that show higher rates of depression, anxiety, and somatoform disorders in individuals that have vegetarian diets, though causation is difficult to pin down. Some studies have shown no differences in depression or anxiety, or even lower anxiety, but nothing clear enough to state "this diet is good for your mental health."

 

[Mad Jack]

Agreed removing the choice to have meat in hospitals is a setup for a lot of unnecessary grief.

It always amazed me, though, how unhealthy hospital food is. This is especially true for residential programs I have seen. Lots of deep-fried, fast-food style rewarmed crap. If you counsel your patients about diet you have to include the caveat that a healthy diet will need to start after the program, because you will of course be force-feeding them junk for the duration of their stay.

The thing that worries me the most is that if they phase out meat they'll lean more toward heavily processed vegetarian options that are even less healthy, as often tends to happen. That steak will always be healthier than a bowl of pasta alfredo.

 

[TheRightMedication]

One thing I like about living in a relatively backwards part of the country is I'm safe from the bright ideas of technocrats.

If my region's hospitals went vegetarian everyone would leave AMA and riot.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I think that if we euthanized patients instead of feeding them we would probably save the planet faster. Or maybe we could make these excess people into a nutritional food source like Soylent green and really be doing good things. I should ask the AI what they think about this plan.

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

I realize that this is tongue-in-cheek but I can't shake the feeling that it touches on a nerve/truth that medicine has become decidedly anti-human and anti-individualistic in recent years and it's pretty disturbing. The 'dehumanization' (of providers, patients, the very process of therapy itself) of psychotherapy for instance is really troubling. All the focus on improving dubious ground-level 'metrics' and 'productivity' scores and ticking off boxes and doing 'audits' and sending nastygrams...

To bring it back to the thread topic, if they can charge $100 for an aspirin in the hospital then why can't they charge something reasonable for a reasonably pleasant and nutritious meal? Broiled chicken, broccoli, and some fruit? Yeah, hospital logistics, etc., I know, I know...but it would hardly seem to be a 'Manhattan Project' type miracle to actually pull off. It just doesn't seem to be prioritized.

 

[Merovinge]

Vegetarian diets also have mixed findings with regard to mental health, which irks me when they state that they have clear benefits for mental health. There are multiple studies that show higher rates of depression, anxiety, and somatoform disorders in individuals that have vegetarian diets, though causation is difficult to pin down. Some studies have shown no differences in depression or anxiety, or even lower anxiety, but nothing clear enough to state "this diet is good for your mental health."

Seems like Mediterranean diets have the best evidence for both physical and mental health and also have a modest carbon footprint. Not sure why anyone would go with vegetarian over Mediterranean at this time if their goal was to promote overall health.

 

[Mad Jack]

Seems like Mediterranean diets have the best evidence for both physical and mental health and also have a modest carbon footprint. Not sure why anyone would go with vegetarian over Mediterranean at this time if their goal was to promote overall health.

100% agreed. It's just virtue signaling rather than effective policy when they do things like this

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

Seems like Mediterranean diets have the best evidence for both physical and mental health and also have a modest carbon footprint. Not sure why anyone would go with vegetarian over Mediterranean at this time if their goal was to promote overall health.

Who knows? Maybe at the last minute they'll relent and throw in some roasted ants or cricket powder.

 

[Merovinge]

100% agreed. It's just virtue signaling rather than effective policy when they do things like this

I honestly doubt it, more like there is industry money playing a hand here. Rarely is the answer something other than follow than money in our current US society.

 

[Mad Jack]

I honestly doubt it, more like there is industry money playing a hand here. Rarely is the answer something other than follow than money in our current US society.

There is industry money on every side of food. Perhaps it is as simple as the money, but I find it doubtful that any food savings would be outweighed by their loss of HCAHPS funding. More likely this is for "positive" press.

 

[Stagg737]

Seems like Mediterranean diets have the best evidence for both physical and mental health and also have a modest carbon footprint. Not sure why anyone would go with vegetarian over Mediterranean at this time if their goal was to promote overall health.

Because it's not. Seems pretty clear from Adams' statements (in this article and others) that the primary goal of this move is to combat climate change. "Healthier" meals seems to be a nice little bow on the package that was stuck on via secondary comments. It may not directly look like a financial windfall, but the political points gained can be just as valuable as money, especially for a first-term mayor in NYC taking heat.

 

[clausewitz2]

The thing that worries me the most is that if they phase out meat they'll lean more toward heavily processed vegetarian options that are even less healthy, as often tends to happen. That steak will always be healthier than a bowl of pasta alfredo.

The unhealthiest person I personally know is 350 lbs despite being pretty physically active and is a straight edge vegan. Very easy to eat terribly and avoid meat or animal products.

Oreos are vegan, 'nuff said.

Interestingly I did my pre-med school volunteering at a hospital system that was strictly vegetarian, mainly because they were run by the Seventh Day Adventists.

 

[mistafab]

I figure this is a covert way to cut food costs - while getting virtue signalers to applaud it. Plants and processed food are just so much cheaper. 10 pounds of potatoes for a dollar. 1 pound of beef, even cheap cuts, can get up to 5+ dollars a pound.

 

[Shikima]

I think that if we euthanized patients instead of feeding them we would probably save the planet faster. Or maybe we could make these excess people into a nutritional food source like Soylent green and really be doing good things. I should ask the AI what they think about this plan.

Now in Soylent Blue and Red!

 

[Mad Jack]

Now in Soylent Blue and Red!

Have an influencer or two on TikTok pitching it and the teens will be screaming for a supply

 

[JKinSC]

Now in Soylent Blue and Red!

Please allow me to make a Modest Proposal...

 

[Ceke2002]

Someone should totally counter with a protest against ableism, just to really throw the cat among the pigeons. I mean did they even stop to consider that anorexics visiting the hospital might be triggered by all those leafy greens, not to mention lack of access to calorically dense food items if someone is hypermetabolic through refeeding. I'm picturing placards and someone shouting slogans through a bullhorn over a table of lentil burgers and kale.

</sarcasm>

 

[whopper]

Patient satisfaction leading to reimbursement WTF. You get hot nurses, dancing nurses, junk food, and reimbursement goes up! I need to add a 100% pure O2 mask treatment, special massage therapy with happy endings, R to X rated movies on the unit, and fast-food into the units. Who cares that it's not good for the patients?

Hmm, what's this about you questioning they could've had paid incentives for good treatment instead of patient satisfaction? Oh yeah that would've been a great idea, but this isn't what they did.