A Study of the Conversion from a Decentralized to a Centralized System of Food Service in Midwestern Hospital

This investigation is concerned mainly with the various types of food services distribution systems, with particular reference to a centralized hospital dietary department. The purpose of this investigation is to find a food service for patients which most nearly meets the needs necessary for a good food service in hospitals ranging in size from 150-300 beds. The hospital administrator and the chief dietitian at Lincoln General Hospital felt a need to study and perhaps contemplate a change in the type of food service system in use because of the present high labor cost of the decentralized service. This study includes an investigation of the methods of food transportation used in centralized services, and the adaptability of the plan to the kitchen area and layout at Lincoln General Hospital. The hope of the writer is to affect a more economical operation of the dietary department through changes in layout, equipment and method of services without affecting the high standard of food service. Letters were written to fifty-two manufacturers of equipment used for transporting trays to patients, which were listed in Hospital Management magazine for November 1956. After studying the material received, more consideration was directed to the hot-cold cart type of food conveyor. As a follow-up, a detailed specification questionnaire on hot-cold carts was sent to ten of these manufacturers, requesting information on carts having capacity for twenty trays and having a self-contained compressor. The data from the specification questionnaire were tabulated according to statements of quality, capacity, and price of the food conveyor carts. A hospital using the hot-cold cart system of food transportation was visited in order to see the system in operation. One day was spent observing the cold tray set-ups, the method of serving the hot food, and the final assembly in the patient’s area. Advisor: Florence C. Smit