St. Francis Hospital Debuts Room Service Program, First on Long Island

ROSLYN, N.Y., May 23, 2005 - Imagine a breakfast of a mushroom omelet with alpine Swiss cheese, and a lunch of mixed greens, goat cheese, mandarin oranges and walnuts with raspberry vinaigrette and roasted red pepper tilapia with brown rice pilaf. How about a dinner of broiled salmon with honey mustard glaze, roasted potatoes and seasoned green beans followed by homemade peach cobbler and fresh fruit? Do you picture yourself a guest at a 5-star resort or a patient at St. Francis Hospital?

As an extension of its tradition of excellence in care, St. Francis Hospital, the Heart Center® is pleased to announce its new room service program, "Dining at Your Request." Each meal is made to order by trained chefs and guaranteed for delivery within 45 minutes.

"The response to the new room service program has been outstanding," says Gayle Ziv, RD, Dietary Manager for the Food & Nutritional Services Department. "Besides helping patients make selections, diet technicians also educate the patients on alternative diet selections and food choices."

Patients can choose from a menu of 72 items - breakfast is served all day - from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Trained diet technicians take phone orders and work with patients to tailor food preferences with dietary needs or restrictions.

The chefs at St. Francis Hospital have been trained at the nation's top culinary institutes including the French Culinary Institute and the Culinary Institute of America. For an average hospital stay, the variety offered on its menu is such that patients can try something different every day.

"Dining at Your Request" is the first hospital room service program on Long Island. Since its inception on April 4, the program has already resulted in a significant reduction in waste as patients only order what they want, when they want it.

"'Dining at Your Request' is a joint endeavor between the food service department and nursing," says Maura Dillon, MA, Director of Food & Nutritional Services. "Nursing is an intricate part of the success of this program as they have direct contact with patients. We prepare and deliver the food to each unit, and the nursing staff is responsible for serving the trays to each patient."

Room service does not incur any additional cost to the patient.

St. Francis Hospital's ongoing expansion will include a major renovation of the kitchen and employee dining room within 2-3 years to incorporate the full needs of room service.

About St. Francis Hospital

St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center® is New York State's only specialty designated cardiac center and is one of the five busiest heart centers in the United States. A recognized national leader in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cardiac disease, St. Francis Hospital is one of only two hospitals in the metropolitan area with risk-adjusted mortality rates significantly below the statewide average for heart valve surgery and/or coronary artery bypass surgery.[i]

Physicians at St. Francis Hospital offer unparalleled experience in the most innovative medical and surgical techniques and non-invasive imaging, including cardiac magnetic resonance and nuclear imaging, three-dimensional echocardiography, catheter-based treatment of congenital heart defects, radiofrequency cardiac ablation, pacemaker and defibrillator implantation, and a broad array of coronary, carotid and peripheral arterial angioplasty.

A leader in cardiovascular care for more than 50 years, St. Francis Hospital is a member of Catholic Health Services of Long Island (CHS), an integrated healthcare delivery system that includes some of the region's finest health and human services agencies.

Contact us at 1.888.HEART.NY or visit us at http://stfrancisheartcenter.chsli.org/.

[i] New York State Department of Health RAMR for Valve and Valve/CABG 2000-2002