EDITORIAL: Food service is a major point of pride at OMNI

With March being Nutrition Month in Canada, The OMNIway showcased several stories about the people who work in the nutritional care departments in our long-term care homes, and there was also much discussion about the meals these dedicated team members prepare for the residents they serve.

Food is always a topic that gets lots of attention from residents. Having high-quality meals is something people living in OMNI Health Care’s 18 long-term care homes expect and are entitled to receive.

The notion that residents of the near future will expect living atmospheres closer to luxury hotels than long-term care homes is something we hear often in the sector – and there’s some truth to this adage. Of course, having high-quality meal service is a major part of the atmosphere people want.

Fortunately, our nutritional care teams have already put this piece of the puzzle in place.

Today, more than ever, we are seeing nutritional care team members with experience in fine dining. These managers and cooks are tapping into the know-how they’ve gained from working in first-class restaurants, and they’re bringing their passion for high-end cooking to the residents of OMNI homes.

Just as when they were working in restaurants, these team members are priding themselves on putting their heart and soul into their work and plating meals in a manner fitting of a five-star restaurant.

In recent years we have also seen an uptick in nutritional care teams taking time to create from-scratch meals that are both delicious and meet nutritional guidelines.

The extra time and care that gets placed on creating homemade meals is a testament to both the sense of pride our team members have for their work as well as their focus on continuous quality improvement.

While we need to prepare to meet the expectations of the next generation of long-term-care home residents, we can take a strong degree of pride in the fact that the quality of meal service in OMNI homes is already of an exceptionally high standard – and it will only get better.

Just some food for thought.