Client Success Story - MeritCare
With a mission "to improve the health and quality of life of the people we serve," MeritCare Health System has provided quality healthcare for more than a century. MeritCare is an integrated clinic and hospital system with the largest group practice and hospital in North Dakota. Headquartered in Fargo, MeritCare's service area spans 250 miles west to east and includes 17 locations in the Fargo/ Moorhead area, 17 regional clinics in Minnesota and nine regional clinics in North Dakota. MeritCare provides services to more than two million patients per year, including 22,500 hospital admissions and 112,000 walk-in clinic visits.
Patient Care
It's tough to be a hospital patient. Strange people poke and prod at you all day long, you have to answer constant streams of questions about how you are feeling, and those gowns don't do much in the way of warmth. So what happens if all you want is some semblance of a normal meal to help you feel better—maybe a nice, juicy hamburger with all the fixings—but your diet is restricted due to your medical condition? Shouldn't you be allowed this one indulgence in light of all you are going through?
Well, yes and no. Employees of MeritCare Medical Center come across this problem on a daily basis. They want their patients to make healthy diet choices, but they also want to foster a nurturing, positive environment. Luckily, these employees have learned to use their CBORD® systems to solve this problem.
Food Service Solution
MeritCare uses CBORD's Foodservice Suite® with Nutrition Service Suite® (NSS) and Room Service systems to monitor patients' diets. Its entire operation (which is made up of two hospitals) uses the Room Service system—there are no traditional tray lines to be found—and both hospitals even use the same call center. With over 23,000 orders a month, an average tray food cost of $1.29, and a 97% average diet compliance rate, the system is clearly one that works well for them.
The Menu
"The key to our whole program is the menu itself," says Lisa Zolondek, MeritCare Foodservice Director. "On a menu of over forty entrées, more than half are 'heart healthy,' meaning they fit within the parameters of low total fat, low cholesterol, and low saturated fat, as well as moderately low sodium. We do offer the whole spectrum of food choices, because people will inevitably want the burger-and-fries option, but we also offer selections like chicken stir-fry, Alfredo, and a delicate cheese sauce that have reduced sodium and fat. We modify recipes without compromising taste, so we get many requests for our recipes.
"I think the most unique aspect of our system is the room service menu itself," says Zolondek. "I've not seen one as comprehensive as ours, especially with the parameters we have set. The entire menu is full of symbols, colors, and other indicators that an item is low in sodium or carbs, vegan, vegetarian, etc. Using NSS and Room Service together has made the whole ordering process so simple."
Customer Education
All orders are taken over the phone, at which time patients are coached and educated on their dietary needs. "Education occurs every time a call is placed," says Janel Sorgert, CBORD Specialist at MeritCare. "Patients are not limited, but guided to make appropriate choices. Otherwise, they can have what they want, as long as it is not an immediate safety issue (thickened fluids, texture, or allergy)."
MeritCare's system of proactive education really pays off. After just a few calls, many patients become actively engaged in following their diets. For example, when ordering, they ask if the foods they are ordering will give them enough carbs, or how they can work their favorite items into their diets.
CBORD Support
"CBORD makes it easy," says Sorgert. "Every time we open a patient's profile for ordering in Room Service, it tells us which parameters the patient should be watching. Inappropriate or unsafe foods are coded in red for 'noncompliant.' The nutrients in each food can be found with the click of a button. It is a no-brainer."
