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Foodservice Plays an Integral Role in Patient Care at Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Newnan, Ga.

Foodservice also features a coffee and smoothie shop that connects to the grill's cooking area and offers pastries, specialty coffees, smoothies and fresh-squeezed juices when the main serving area is closed. The counter is also open to the serving area so patients can order smoothies during main serving times.

The stakeholders' dining room is affectionately referred to as "Ricardo's", a reference to CTCA founder and chairman Richard Stephenson. This area is pleasant and well lit, opening up to outdoor dining and offering stakeholders time to decompress and relax. The servery area here includes grab-and-go refrigerators, a salad bar, and wells holding assorted hot foods. The design includes a wok range for preparing Asian cuisine to order, along with a charbroiler, griddle with a range top and a combi oven. The cooking area for stakeholders' dining is adjacent to the main kitchen and can provide additional cooking during meal preparation for the main serving area.

A sense of hope and optimism permeates the facility and staff-patient relationships. "In my experience working in healthcare, staff work very differently with patients," Camacho says. "The concentration is always on the patient. Everyone at the hospital seems happy to be there. I never met anyone who was rude or surly. There are no bad days or bad moods among staff.

"In addition, in many hospitals and medical offices, you go in to see a doctor and an attendant says, 'Dr. Jones is ready to see you.' Here, they take a different approach, saying, 'Dr. Jones, Miss Smith is ready to see you.' No doubt you don't want to have cancer, but if you do, this is a very positive, professional, supportive place to go," Camacho adds. "No doubt, the foodservice plays a crucial role in contributing to the care and optimism."

Facts of Note

  • Ownership: Cancer Treatment Centers of America
  • Headquarters: Schaumburg, Ill., with other facilities in Zion, Ill.; Tulsa, Okla.; Goodyear, Ariz.; Philadelphia; Newnan, Ga.
  • Opened: August 15, 2012
  • Size and Scope: The 226,000-sq.-ft., all-digital cancer hospital includes 25 private inpatient rooms, 26 infusion stations, a pair of 650-sq.-ft. surgical suites, radiation and infusion therapy departments, a patient clinic, rehabilitation and physical therapy department, concierge services, 60 on-site residential accommodation rooms for patients and caregivers, an organic food service department and dining room, chapel, retail pharmacy, gift shop and more. Foodservice occupies 7,133 sq. ft. for main kitchen and serving area, which includes 4,805 sq. ft. for the kitchen and bakeshop; 2,328 sq. ft. for the servery. The facility allocates 4,360 sq. ft. for the 120-seat dining room; 1,442 sq. ft. for stakeholders (staff) dining and serving area; and 456 sq. ft. for a first-floor coffee shop.
  • Daily Covers: 2,000, which includes meals for patients coming in for treatments, and for their caregivers
  • Café Seats: 120 in main dining; 40 outdoors
  • Average Check: Patients and their caregivers receive discounted rates on breakfast, lunch and dinner. Average costs for meals are $2 to $3 for breakfast; $3 to $5 for lunch; and $3 to $5
  • for dinner.
  • Hours: The Café is open from 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily and serves à la carte items throughout the day. Patients and caregivers may also order meals to be sent directly to their rooms or to the Infusion Center if they are receiving chemotherapy.?
  • Scheduled mealtimes are as follows: breakfast, 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and dinner, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. A first-floor coffee shop operates Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Café Menu Specialties: Selections from stations offering salads, sandwiches, hot and cold food, pasta, comfort food and pizza
  • Staffing/Foodservice: 26 full-time employees
  • Total Facility Cost: $69.525 million
  • Equipment Investment: $1.2 million
  • Website: www.cancercenter.com/southeastern

Key Players

  • President and CEO: Anne Meisner
  • Assistant Vice President, General Services: Michael Schriks
  • Executive Chef: Roy Khoo
  • Planning Consultant, CTCA: William Rymer
  • Construction, CTCA: Michael White, senior vice president, national director of construction
  • Architects and Interior Designers: Dewberry Architects; Dave Huey, AIA, principal in charge; Clint Rodgers, project manager; Victor Thompson, project designer; Cassandra Franco, project architect; Lauren Fite, interior designer
  • Foodservice Consultants: Camacho Associates, Atlanta and Charlotte; James Camacho, FCSI, CSI, president; Alan Clay, quality control; Brett Daniel, FCSI Associate, CAD coordinator
  • Construction: Okland Construction/Batson-Cook; Kevin Appleton, project executive, Batson-Cook; Chuck Williams, project superintendent, Batson-Cook; Josh Fenn, project manager, Okland Construction
  • Equipment Dealer: Atlanta Fixtures; Chip Howell, project manager

Full kitchen layout on next page.