Introduction by Chris Baynes
American food technology company CBORD is expanding its Australian footprint beyond public and private hospitals.
Offering proven systems across the American aged care sector and now Australian public and private hospitals, they offer RAC operators the ability to deliver ‘fresh food to order’.
They give the example of a hospital patient wanting a hamburger at 8 o’clock at night and it being individually prepared and delivered, with full nutritional accountability.
In the US CBORD is moving the market expectation to this now being the standard expectation, not the gold standard, based on the ethos that ‘food is medicine’.
Read below.
Food Is Medicine. And CBORD delivers every day
“It is estimated that of those living in residential aged care facilities (RACFS), between 22 and 50% of residents are malnourished.”¹
Food is medicine. And if food is medicine, then foodservice is medicine too.
It’s an age-old concept—the idea food is medicine crosses cultures and time—it connects all of us at the most basic level. In 400 BCE, Hippocrates said ‘let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.’
Does technology deliver malnutrition?
We’ve had over 2,000 years to get this right—so why are we not the most well-nourished, healthiest generation in human history?
Well, convenience. That is what it all comes down to.
The age of technology brought with it conveniently prepared meals infused with preservatives, it brought artificial dyes and flavors, it brought an abundance of low-nutrient foods.
And here we are—societies of plenty yet suffering from malnutrition.
Delivering food as medicine in aged care
If technology carries convenience—we need to be using it to our advantage—as a medium of delivery, assurance, and scale of nutrition. And this idea is most important in an aged care setting.
Residents are with us during times of vulnerability. Times when their bodies need—crave—the healing power of nutritious food. But is nutritious food the most convenient? Is making something freshly prepared from scratch the most convenient method?
How about when feeding thousands of people every day? How about making sure those people receive, consume, and thrive from that meal? The answer, of course, is no, it is not the easiest nor most convenient choice.
Technology to deliver fresh to order
But it is the right thing for our residents. And technology is the only way to succeed in doing it. Freshly prepared meals made with high-quality ingredients is expected.
With CBORD systems and technology, aged care facilities can maximize the interaction between hospitality staff and residents with personalised care.
The medical, ethical, or religious dietary restrictions are most accurate when the resident, hospitality staff, and dietitians collaboratively choose their meal items.
Most importantly, residents are positively engaged when they choose the food they want when they want it. It’s their medicine of choice.
This is what CBORD delivers. Systems, technology, engaged residents. We achieve this for leading Australian hospitals every day and with a number of forward-thinking residential care providers too. In light of the Royal Commission’s findings on malnutrition, this is the time for you to ensure your residents enjoy their meals and stay healthy too.
Please contact us to learn more!
