For directors looking to improve quality of life and staff morale in a senior care or long-term care community, reconsidering foodservice can be a viable option.

For many reasons, the SuzyQ meal delivery system can help on these fronts, but sometimes it helps to understand why and to hear what others are saying.

Let’s review some popular sentiment on the SuzyQ:

Residents love the SuzyQ.

In many cases, long-term residents are slowly being stripped of their ability to choose. On the flip side of that, SuzyQ can actually provide choice by allowing residents to be in charge of their own selections during mealtimes.

“Residents have choices at mealtimes, limited but at least it is a choice. They can specify how much they want, ask for a second helping, eat pudding every day if they want. Patient meal satisfaction has greatly improved and family members rarely express concerns relating to meal service in the dining room.”

Being able to choose individual items makes mealtimes more enjoyable instead of seeming more regimented. SuzyQ also provides the opportunity for resident-staff interactions, giving residents the ability to talk about food options and even make a new friend. Residents can get access to a variety of intriguing textures, flavors, and aromas at each meal. This creates excitement and can make mealtimes what they’re supposed to be — the most enjoyable parts of the day.

“Comments have included; ‘treated special’ and ‘feel like royalty’. Review of the satisfaction survey results from residents and families indicated an increase of the satisfaction level of the quality of meals to 73%. Food complaints regarding meals on the three halls using the system are non-existent. ”

Staff love it, too.

One clear result of the SuzyQ is staff love it, as well, in large part because it increases the opportunity for interactions with residents. Hint: residents aren’t the only ones who enjoy and benefit from this. When this type of service is facilitated, staff get to see residents as real people with unique likes and dislikes rather than an anonymous room number or dietary code.

“The foodservice staff have a relationship with the residents, enjoy the interaction, and experience greater job satisfaction.”

Many staff testimonials mention how much staff members enjoy the interaction with the residents and how it results in greater job satisfaction, but staff also love SuzyQ because it can help reduce waste. Recent patient satisfaction surveys indicate this type of delivery is well-received.

“’I enjoy the new food service method of receiving food’ and ‘I prefer the new food cart; I feel good about the reduction in waste’ are two of the many favorable comments we’ve received. It has been a positive experience for the foodservice staff too; ‘It has  given us an opportunity to interact with the residents at a more personable level. We have observed a significant reduction in food waste with our new SuzyQ cart. We are giving the residents only what they want for the meal, so we are seeing a lot less waste. We are pleased with the new meal delivery service and look forward to providing our residents with many more SuzyQ opportunities.’”

They save money and provide important ROI.

As we just mentioned, staff love SuzyQ because the meal delivery systems result in reduced food waste. It’s depressing to send out carefully prepared food only to see a substantial portion of it return uneaten. Not only is this demoralizing for the kitchen staff, but the tremendous amount of food waste is also a drain on the dietary budget.

In their testimonies, quite a few kitchen managers described how much less food waste there is with the SuzyQ. Because residents can specify the amount of each food item they select, more of them actually finish their meals. Getting seniors to eat more is always a bonus!

“The food waste has drastically decreased at my site, as well, which means the residents are eating. There has been a noticeable increase in the amount residents are consuming because now they get to eat what they want to! At each meal we begin with a beverage cart, we set up everyone with placemats, cutlery, water and any additional drinks they would like.”

Is SuzyQ the right solution for your facility?

With significantly hotter food, 30-50% less food waste, fast and efficient staff teamwork, and an improved resident-focused dining experience, SuzyQ meal delivery systems are proving to be an operation-transforming piece of equipment, as you read above. But what about your facility?

To discover the potential ROI of a SuzyQ for your specific facility, we’ve put together a calculator to help you understand the full savings potential of these meal delivery systems.