Hyemyung Kim, UMDNJ RD Intern reviews Jim McGrody”s presentation, “What We Feed Our Patients”

GNJSHFSA 2011 Annual Education Seminar – November 17, 2011
Speaker: Jim McGrody

Jim McGrody delivered an excellent, insightful presentation on his experiences resulting in patient satisfaction. McGrody’s educational background stems from a culinary arts high school and the Culinary Institute of America.  He served as a Food Service Specialist in the army for four years before beginning to work in the industry.  His work experience ranges in various settings from universities all the way to hotels, restaurants, and even Walt Disney World before moving onto healthcare foodservice.

It was in Washington D.C. when McGrody was introduced to the cook-chill system at Washington Hospital Center.  This was a shock to McGrody as he realized that this was how food was being served to patients: food that came pre-plated and then reheated.  McGrody struggled with the disparity of what he believed of how food should be prepared and how the cook-chill system worked.  However, when McGrody was exposed to a cook-serve system, he recognized a new problem.  He noticed that cooks would prepare foods in the morning that would be left in warmers for the remainder of the day.  Consequently, he realized that for better food quality, better training was necessary for employees.  The solutions that McGrody had to devise helped to lead the way to his philosophy of delivering excellent patient food service.

At Rex Health Care, where McGrody currently serves as the Food and Nutrition Director, it is evident that McGrody’s philosophy is being administered successfully.  Since his arrival at Rex, patient satisfaction has increased tremendously.  McGrody initiated the Black Hat Chefs program, which is a 4-level culinary training program that provides training to cooks, complete with a practice and written exam.  In addition, bonuses are attached to achieving higher levels, giving cooks further incentive to excel in their services.  McGrody also began the “Be. Nourish, Learn, Move” Program—a Heart Healthy program that focuses on “not just a collection of healthy recipes” but “a way of life.”  The program concentrates on changing lifestyles and works with registered dietitians to educate people on how to exercise, cook, and eat healthy.

It is evident during the presentation how McGrody is passionate about not simply providing food to patients but going above and beyond to deliver extraordinary patient satisfaction.  He forecasts that in order to continue to improve and deliver excellent patient food service, room service models may be necessary, more chefs need to be hired, more ethnic items should be placed on the menu, more restaurant “Front of the House” people should be hired, food waste should be reduced, sustainable organic foods will be introduced, and the cook-chill system may disappear.  This attention to detail and customer service as well as his passion for food is what has helped McGrody to succeed in the healthcare food service industry.