As we’ve highlighted recently, it’s important to provide hydration for patients and residents in healthcare facilities and senior care communities. Water and important nourishment from healthy foods are a great way to promote good health and recovery, but what are the best ways to achieve this?
Essentially, there are two ways to get foods and beverages to patients and residents. First, diners can come to the source of the food and water and serve themselves. The other way is to bring foods and drinks to them as part of a full-service operation. The next question, then, is how do you choose between the two? And the answer is one that has generally been skewed over the last few years as we’ve traversed the Covid pandemic.
SELF-SERVE MEAL CARTS
Self-service is generally designed for patients and guests that have greater mobility and can move around within a particular property with relative ease. Adding self-serve hydration and nutrition carts are a great way to help make the most out of underused locations while also encouraging impulse food and beverage consumption that promotes wellness. They can be easily loaded in a kitchen for transport to a serving area, and they also eliminate the need for serving tables and linens that can eat resources. With self-serve carts, the impacts on staffing are minimal.
FULL-SERVICE CARTS
Full-service carts are designed to either bring foods and beverages directly to patients and residents, or they can be used to create patient/staff interactions in underused locations of a hospital or senior care community. Like self-serve carts, they also create opportunities for impulse fluid and food consumption in communal areas, as well as being ideal for room service and in-room meal deliveries. Though full-service carts are designed to be operated by a staff member, they can still reduce the burdens on staff by eliminating repeated trips to storage areas.
Hydration and Nutrition Carts from Lakeside
Based on the above criteria, it’s possible to narrow in on a selection for which type of serving station would work best for a particular type of healthcare facility or foodservice goal. Self-serve beverage service carts from Lakeside are designed with convenient storage underneath and ample serving space on top of the cart. This makes it easy to display an array of items while hiding backstock. Full-service hydration carts from Lakeside are great for mobile hydration and nutrition. Designed with features for dispensing and convenient drawers for operation, these units are great for providing vital hydration and nutrition to patients and residents in an efficient manner, while also delivering much-needed points of interaction.