Food-Service-Manual-for-Health-Care-Institutions

Food Service Manual for Health Care Institutions
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The cold-food section should provide appropriate storage bins or dispensers for salads,
desserts, bread, butter, condiments, and beverages. Mechanical refrigeration may or may not
be needed in this section. For example, if the facility is small and a small number of people are
served in a short time, a service refrigerator nearby could provide adequate sanitary conditions
for holding foods at the proper temperature up to a serving time.
Additional space is needed on or near the line for trays, tableware, napkins, beverage containers,
and so forth. These materials should be located for easy accessibility by the customers
but not where traffic flow will be interrupted or slowed. The same principle applies to the location
of cash registers. A line can easily form when there are not enough cashiers. In the meantime,
the customer’s food gets cold.
Behind the service line, adequate space and equipment must be provided for dishes, food storage,
and food setup. Mobile self-leveling dispenser units for dishes help reduce labor, handling,
and breakage. Some should have the capability of being heated; others are merely dish storage
units. Hot-food holding cabinets or drawers within easy reach of servers save time and help maintain
the quality of foods held for short periods. Pass-through units from the kitchen are convenient.
Likewise, pass-through, reach-in, or roll-in refrigerators are needed for cold foods.
In facilities serving fast-food items, grills and griddles are available for short-order cooking.
Short-order cooking requires more labor, but the benefits are better food quality and customer
satisfaction. If this type of service causes delays in the main service line, a separate
station could be set up away from the general traffic flow, or fast-food production methods
could be instituted.
The overall space requirements for the employees’ dining area must be carefully analyzed to
ensure the efficient movement of customers and service workers. Today, food service directors
prefer more self-service within the cafeteria facility because labor is saved and customers have
more control over the amount and kind of food they can choose. The space behind the line
should be wide enough for transportation equipment and for efficient movement by employees.
The customers’ side must also be wide enough for bypassing others in the line, if this is allowed,
and for easy access to the dining area. A periodic check of waiting times at various stations and
customer counts per minute will indicate bottlenecks that can be eliminated by equipment
rearrangement or menu changes. A decision must be made concerning the payment method to
be used. Payroll deduction, debit cards, or cash may be used separately or in combination. Once
this decision is made, the type and sophistication of cash register(s) must be decided.
Numerous types of registers are available. The food service director, the financial officer,
and the information manager will need to determine which one meets the needs of the facility.
Depending on the policies of the organization, it may be necessary to purchase a safe for the
food service operation. The safe needs to be heavy duty and to store coins and paper money.
Once customers have been served, adequate space in a pleasant, attractive dining room is
needed. Because health care personnel usually have little time to relax at meal breaks, waiting
and overcrowding are not conducive to good morale. The size of the dining area should depend
on the number of people expected to be seated during a given time and the rate of turnover.
Generally a minimum of 10 to 14 square feet per person is recommended.
Also, the type of furnishing should be considered. Tables usually accommodate two, four,
or more persons. Attractive booths similar to those used in commercial establishments can add
to the decor and provide good space utilization. Instead of having one large room, the room can
be divided by partitions, sliding or accordion doors, or large healthy plants or dwarf trees to create
an atmosphere of seclusion and relaxation. Wall color and flooring materials are also important.
Employees who use the facility can suggest suitable colors and materials. Professional
decorators and food service employees are other good sources for decorating ideas.
Beverage Equipment
Beverage-making equipment for dispensing hot beverages, carbonated beverages, juice, and
other noncarbonated drinks such as tea, along with ice makers, are important because these