Hennepin County Medical Center

Hennepin County Medical Center, located in the heart of beautiful downtown Minneapolis, is a busy place. Part of the Hennepin Healthcare System, it’s Minnesota’s premier Level 1 Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, and an essential state teaching hospital. 

In addition to operating Minnesota’s busiest Emergency Department, the system runs primary care clinics in Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, St. Anthony and Richfield. Their mission is to partner with the community, patients and their families to ensure access to outstanding care for everyone. 

“Our overall mean Press Ganey score has gone up almost 40 points. That is huge, and we saw that immediately.” 

With 455 operating beds, the hospital can serve upwards of 1,350 patient meals a day, all of which are managed by Food Service Director Bill Marks. He’s been the director since 2009. The hospital uses a spoken menu with a hybrid of room service and traditional service. This allows patients to select from menus that offer a variety of healthy, made-to-order foods that are compliant with their diet prescription. 

“We’ve been using a Heat On Demand® induction pellet system for some time,” said Marks. “We’ve found it works well for our tray line system because we can keep food hot in the kitchen until plating the trays immediately before they’re served, and we can also reduce waste by not having to throw out uneaten food.” The technology of Aladdin’s new Heat On Demand Advantage® system, introduced in 2012, was intriguing to Marks. 

“I first became interested in the new Advantage® system through our Aladdin salesperson,” said Bill. 

“The technology itself is so cool, and it triggered a review of our previous system. That system was getting some age on it, and we had some bases that were beginning to break down, not getting quite as hot as they should. 

“So that was one of our challenges. Another challenge for us was maintaining temperatures because of the distances we have to travel from our main kitchen to the floors. 

“Those challenges were reflected in our Press Ganey scores, so we knew our outcomes could be stronger. That made us want to dive in and investigate the new Aladdin Advantage® system that much more. So we did.” 

The 12-second heating cycle generates 60+ minutes
of holding time – so it’s great for room service and late tray applications. Food is kept at or above 140°F for 60+ minutes. While Advantage® is designed to be used with unheated plates, facilities that continue to use a dish heater and heated plates can expect food to stay hotter for 73+ minutes. Serving temperatures will remain higher longer, too. 

“Our farthest run is 15 minutes one way. So when you count from the first tray that gets loaded onto the truck, and you’re loading a truck of 20 trays that take maybe 10 minutes to come down the line, the first tray could be sitting there for 10 minutes. 

“Then you add 15 minutes of transport time, and another 10-15 minutes for the person passing the tray, and another 10-15 minutes if a patient has to be fed by nursing – and that tray could easily be sitting for 60 minutes. 

“But now, even after an hour, we’re finding that the food is still hot,” Marks said. “With patients, you can serve something that’s absolutely great, but if it’s not temperature appropriate, it’s lost its bang. Conversely, you can serve something that’s just OK, but if it’s supposed to be hot – and it’s served good and hot – it’s a hit.” 

The hospital’s Press Ganey scores have risen dramatically since the new Aladdin Advantage® system was installed. “Our results have been huge,” added Marks, “and that’s where you see how well a system is doing.” 

Their scores greatly improved in two of the key Press Ganey ratings categories, the raw score and the overall ranking. “Our mean score increased 7 points,” said Marks. “With Press Ganey, if you move up 1 point in your mean score, that can be tremendous. 

“Our overall peer ranking among other similar hospitals has increased
40 points. That is huge, and we saw that immediately.” He also credits Aladdin’s Advantage® system with being extremely easy to understand and use. “The system is painless and simple for my staff,” said Marks. “It doesn’t take rocket science to learn. You can train somebody in 30 seconds. It’s very easy to use, but the outcome is what it’s all about. 

“The best compliment I can give is that we don’t even know we have the system! Operationally, the equipment is as smooth as smooth can be. And that’s the perfect piece of equipment, something we don’t even know we have that provides the results we want. Because if we don’t even know we have it, that means it’s working like it should.”

Marks also appreciates the high level of personal service and fast response time Aladdin provides for its customers. “I’ve always been a supporter of Aladdin because I know that if I need you or if something goes wrong, you guys are going to be there. And you are. 

Hennepin County Medical Center is located at 701 Park Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota 

For more information about how Aladdin’s Heat On Demand Advantage® system can help improve your hospital’s foodservice challenges and enhance patient satisfaction contact us.