New York Daily News, Rachel Silberstein, Edgar Sandoval and Simone Weichselbaum, Sep. 23, 2012
Hospital vending machines, like this one, will soon be filled with healthier offerings under a Bloomberg Administration initiative |
Long Island College Hospital even has a Taco Bell -- but not for much longer, apparently. (Photo: Rachel Silberstein/NY Daily News) |
It soon may
be easier in a New York hospital to get an extra blanket or a bedpan than a
Snickers bar or a can of Coke.
Mayor
Bloomberg’s Health Department, which has already done Hizzoner’s bidding by
banishing sugary and fatty foods in public hospitals, has convinced a number of
private health-care facilities to junk the junk, the Daily News has learned.
“It’s the
right thing to do,” said Hector Cruzado, a spokesman for Wyckoff Heights
Medical in Bushwick, Brooklyn, one of the private hospitals that have
voluntarily signed onto the program. “Starting October 1, we are switching them
all out,” he said of vending machines that now are stocked with soda and
sweets. “Only healthy options will be offered.”
Nutrition
experts say it’s a smart move, considering many hospital patients are suffering
from illnesses linked to diets laden with salt, fat and sugar.
Critics
will say it’s another example of Bloomberg’s nanny instincts — which have
already done away with smoking in most public places and trans fats in city
restaurants, and are zeroing in on super-size sodas at fast-food joints.
The
participating hospitals know the changes won’t be universally popular. “I
haven’t told the staff yet that their sweet rolls are going away,” said an exec
at one facility that’s about to overhaul its offerings. Public hospitals have
already slimmed down their vending machines, to the chagrin of some
calorie-craving visitors.
“What’s
wrong with chocolate?” groused Jerome Tyler, 48, who was visiting a pal at
Harlem Hospital Sunday. “Bloomberg should mind his business. He’s trying to be
like my father.”
The Health
Department declined to say how many private hospitals have signed onto its
Healthy Hospital Food Initiative, which a source said calls for participants to
adopt the city’s food standards for vending machines, cafeterias and patient
meals, such as:
* No meals
featuring deep-fried food, trans fats, 2% or whole milk, fruit in syrup, or
salty food.
* All
full-size portions of sandwiches, salads, and entrees must contain 650 calories
or less.
* All
beverages will be 12 ounces or smaller, except water and seltzer — and water
and seltzer will be at least 25% cheaper than other drinks.
* Baked
chips, nuts or pretzels instead of candy bars in vending machines.
* Desserts
and other sweets will contain 250 calories or less.
A survey by
The News found many private hospitals will need to tighten their belts to
follow the guidelines.
At Brooklyn
Hospital Center’s emergency room in Fort Greene, visitors can buy $1.75
ice-cream cones. SUNY Downstate’s Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill,
Brooklyn, has a Taco Bell.
“Terrible.
They should serve healthy food,” said flower deliveryman Eduardo Johannesen,
23, as he dropped off a bouquet to a sick patient at LICH. “Isn’t the hospital
supposed to be a healthy place?”
At
Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park, Brooklyn, junk food outpaced water,
cereal bars and nuts in the two ER vending machines. Maimonides is joining the
city’s initiative and has already cut down on empty calories in some machines
and plans to increase the effort, a spokeswoman said.
Montefiore
Medical Center in the Bronx also endorsed the standards and said it’s
eliminated sugared beverages and candy in all machines and trans fats in the
cafeteria. “We are always looking to improve, make things healthier,” said
spokeswoman Helene Guss. “We have done so much already.”
While
hospital cafeterias may offer healthy options like fresh fruit, salad bars and
lean sandwiches, most are not open around the clock or are not near the ER.
At
SUNY-Downstate in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Mildred Broughon, 64, was frustrated
by vending machine choices as she waited for doctors to check a feverish
grandchild. “I have to take medication at certain times, but I need something
like a sandwich to take it with. And all I have is chips and soda,” she said.
A check of
public hospitals found vending machines stocked with healthier options — though
there were chocolate bars and cookies at Brooklyn’s Kings County Hospital.
No comments:
Post a Comment