A café in Saint Francis Hospital’s new emergency center/patient tower and a servery and kitchen at the Laureate Eating Disorders Program offer staff, visitors andpatients healthful meal and snack options.

Café’s simple design and neutral color scheme allow the colored tiles to stand out. Seen on the left are the refrigerated beverage and take-out display cases. Photographs courtesy of Lisette CostonTogether, the new 8-story Trauma Emergency Center and patient tower form the largest addition to Saint Francis Hospital in the 54-year history of the Oklahoma-based healthcare operation. The 85-room, Level 2 center increased the Saint Francis Health System’s capacity to serve more than 300 patients daily and 110,000 patients annually, including 30,000 at the new Pediatric Emergency Center. The expanded 150-bed tower and additional clinical services allow Saint Francis to care for even more patients and fulfill its mission to the community.

In order to offer visitors and employees an opportunity to relax and eat, the hospital opened a new retail foodservice venue on September 20, 2014. Located in the vicinity of the new emergency room and patient tower, Café sits in a beautiful open space overlooking the tower’s grand lobby.

“While working with Worrell Design Group, we examined all of the foodservices offered by Saint Francis,” says Lisette Coston, MBA, RD/LD, executive director of support services for Saint Francis. We realized that positioning smaller cafés in various locations is the best way to offer visitors and staff a convenient foodservice alternative to the main café. With this option, they neither have to walk very far nor find parking places to have access to foodservice.” Café is the eighth retail venue in the Saint Francis system and the fourth on this campus.

“We wanted to provide some continuity for customers who might frequent more than one retail venue, so everyone pays the same price for coffee, entrees, pizzas and sandwiches at all locations,” Coston says.

The contemporary design features a back wall with bright white and green glass tiles. On the counter’s exterior, the zebrawood finish offers a contrast to the rice paper Corian countertops, lighter walls and high-end terrazzo flooring with green and black flecks. Strategically placed around Café, seating options include traditional tables and chairs, traditional high-back chairs and round coffee tables.

In the seating area, a glass sculpture inspired by the Chihuly glass sculpture found in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas decorates the lounge. More traditional tables and chairs are pictured in the back.Much of the food comes from the tower’s main central kitchen, which is just a short five-minute walk from Café. Once the food arrives, staff place it in built-in refrigeration and warming cabinets behind the operation’s front counter.

Considering the small, 1,718-square-foot space, Café offers a fairly large variety of menu options, including panini sandwiches, grab-and-go offerings (sandwiches, salads, parfaits, fruit, cheese and crackers, hummus and pretzels, and fresh vegetables), breakfast sandwiches, pastries/bagels, soup, “Shake This” smoothies, milkshakes, specialty coffee drinks (Starbucks), and a hot food special of the day.

For heating sandwiches, staff use a panini press, and for warming pizzas and quesadillas, they use a ventless high-speed oven. “We opted to go with ventless to reduce strong food odors and reduce utilities in this area or the lobby since the design is completely open,” Coston says. In the kitchen, hot holding cabinets keep hot food items warm such as chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes. The equipment package at Café also includes a soup warmer and coffee- and espresso-making equipment.

Café also contains an ice cream machine, while dry storage and dishwashing facilities sit in the back of the house. In the front of the house, to the left of the serving counter, large grab-and-go coolers hold beverages, salads, sandwiches, fruit cups and parfaits. A freezer holds ice cream and novelties.

A small space behind Café, adjacent to a seating area, contains fountain-dispensed water, a microwave, condiments and serviceware.

As word spreads about Café, Coston remains confident that traffic will continue to increase. Finding the right menu mix will be the key to drawing customers back time and again.

Facts of Note

Ownership: Saint Francis Health System
Opened: September 2014
Scope of Project: Retail café
Hospital Size: 450,000 sq. ft. for tower; renovated space, 50,000 sq. ft.; 150 beds
Café Size: 1,718 sq. ft.
Seats: 44
Average Check: $4.42
Total Annual Sales: $465,450
Transactions/Weekly Covers: 420
Hours: 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday
Menu Specialties: Panini sandwiches, grab-and-go offerings (sandwiches, salads, parfaits, fruit, cheese and crackers, humus and pretzels, and fresh vegetables), breakfast sandwiches, pastries/bagels, soup, “Shake This” smoothies, milkshakes,
specialty coffee drinks (Starbucks), hot food special of the day
Staff: 3
Total Project Cost: $206 million (for entire tower; foodservice, including a new central kitchen, call center, staff offices for dietitians, break room and new locker rooms for staff, storage room and Café are included in the cost)
Equipment Investment: $300,000
Website: www.saintfrancis.com

Key Players

Owner: Saint Francis Health System
Executive Director of Support Services: Lisette Coston, MBA, RD/LD
Executive Chef: Jason Galloway
Production Supervisor: Jenny Palacios
Architect: Page Southerland Page LLP, Dallas and other locations
Interior Designer: Page Southerland Page LLP, Dallas
Consultants: Worrell Design Group, Houston; Rodney Worrell and Larry Wolfe
Equipment Dealer: Curtis Restaurant Supply, Tulsa, Okla.
Construction: Manhattan Construction Co., Tulsa, Okla.

Servery and Kitchen at the Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital

The servery for the eating disorders residents features adjustable food shields, hot and cold wells and easy-to-access plates beneath the serving counter.Facilities that were built in 1990 to serve the Laureate
Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital geriatric, chemical dependency and eating disorder programs needed a significant update. Founded in 1988 by The William K. Warren Foundation, Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital in Tulsa, Okla., provides a full spectrum of psychiatric treatment as well as research and education for the general public and professional community. Laureate’s mission emphasizes not only patient recovery and function, but also experiencing fulfilling lives within their families, businesses and communities.

A private, not-for-profit, freestanding psychiatric
facility, Laureate’s related buildings sit on a 47-acre campus of beautifully landscaped surroundings that include wooded courtyards, walking trails, a waterfall and a small lake.
Everything on this retreat-like campus, from the surroundings to the outpatient clinic and patient rooms, is designed to suit patients’ needs.

“This is unlike any psychiatric facility I’ve ever seen,”
Coston says. “It’s a five-minute drive from the main campus and is like a resort. In order for the programs offered here to be competitive, the facilities have to be inviting and conducive to healing. The dining space especially must also serve those purposes because it is in this type of environment where the patients face one of the hardest facets of their therapy.”

The Kitchen Expansion

The kitchen, which serves 250 patients and staff in the Wells Hall and Moore Hall buildings, was expanded by revitalizing existing space and creating a more efficient and user-friendly working environment for current and future residents. “The flow had to accommodate storage and space for specialty meal preparation,” says foodservice consultant Billy Inman, president of Inman Associates. “The biggest rub on the design was that the existing facility allowed the residents to see directly into the kitchen, which is not appropriate at an eating disorder unit. The new kitchen is closed from outsiders’ viewing, which is more therapeutic for patients.”

The salad bar features ingredients in white porcelain dishes to present a comfortable, home-like ambiance. Desserts sit above on the glass shelving. A reach-in refrigerator and reach-in freezer stand behind the service line.The renovated kitchen features expanded walk-in refrigeration and walk-in freezer storage, as well as a central storage area for dry goods used by staff on the main levels.

An expanded prep area allows staff to prepare a greater number of menu items and snacks. “We also incorporated a catering area capable of handling the larger needs of the program,” says foodservice consultant Rick Palmer, vice president of healthcare design at Inman Associates. The expanded catering area allows staff to prepare meals for delivery to Moore Hall. “The patients who reside in Moore Hall are not as ambulatory as those at Wells Hall so meals must be delivered to them rather than their going to the servery,” Palmer continues.

The kitchen renovation also includes an expanded
cookline with upgraded equipment so culinary staff can prepare a complete array of menu items. Equipment includes a six-burner range with a convection oven, along with an undercounter freezer, a charbroiler, double convection oven, single combi oven, water filter, double steamer, 40-gallon braising pan, fryer, dump station and two exhaust hoods.

For the dishwash area, Inman and Palmer relocated it from the middle of the department to the back of the kitchen in order to make room for more prep and cooking space. “In addition, the dish drop was secured and is ‘hidden’ rather than being at an open window in the middle of the assembly area, which it was before,” Inman says. “We also incorporated a design in which the trash does not have to traverse through the servery, but rather is pulled by staff straight back into the dishroom.”

The Servery

In the front of the house, the new servery features a clean, simple design with a noise-controlled atmosphere. Light and calming colors contribute to an ambience that allows patients to engage in conversation. White counters highlight the bright colors of the food.

“The flow was designed to accommodate an expanded entrance for wheelchairs and storage,” Inman says. “The serving line is one directional so the patients don’t have to scramble to pick and choose menu items. Also, the serving line has a designated area for snacks, which makes it easy for the patients to retrieve as they leave and continue on with the rest of their programmed day.”

The new servery also features a salad bar and areas for patients to pick up desserts, snacks and beverages. “Previously there was not much space for these items, and now they are displayed and easy to access,” Inman says.

Another feature is a pass-through counter for bagged snacks, which replaces a cart. The area also contains a pre-tray meal pickup area for residents with special diets.

Laureate has long been a leader in treating patients with psychiatric conditions and eating disorders. Now the renovated kitchen and servery set the treatment bar even higher. FE&S

Facts of Note

Ownership: Saint Francis Health System
Opened: April 2014
Scope of Project: Renovated kitchen, serving line and dining space to expand volume and capacity for the Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital geriatric, chemical dependency and eating disorder programs. The kitchen serves two buildings and 91 residents, 30 of whom are in treatment for eating disorders.
Size: 5,160 sq. ft., including the 2,350-sq.-ft. kitchen; 867-sq.-ft. serving line area; and 1,260-sq.-ft. dining space
Seats: 50
Average Check: There is no cost for patients. Staff encourage family members of adolescent patients to dine in with them for a $5 guest fee. Once a month the facility hosts a family week, during which family members can visit, eat and learn more about eating disorders.
Weekly Participation: 150, including staff, 3 times/day, 7 days/week
Hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., 7 days/week
Menu Specialties: Serve three levels of care. Level 1, non-select for newly admitted patients who are unable to make selections; Level 2, menu-select for patients who are able to make selections using a predetermined meal pattern prescribed by a dietitian; and Level 3, self-serve patients who are able to self-portion food and eat selections that are prepared by the chef.
Staff: 7
Total Project Cost: $7.5 million
Equipment Investment: $390,000
Website: www.saintfrancis.com/laureate-psychiatric-clinic/eatingdisorders/Pages/default.aspx

Key Players

Owner: Saint Francis Health System
Executive Director of Support Services: Lisette Coston, MBA, LD/RD
Foodservice Manager: Becky Schmidt
Executive Chef: Jeffrey Townes
Interior Design: Page Southerland Page LLP
Architect: Page Southerland Page LLP, Dallas
Foodservice Consultants: Inman Associates Inc., Nashville, Tenn.; Billy Inman, president; Rick Palmer, vice president, healthcare design
Equipment Dealer: Johnston-Lancaster, Tampa, Fla.
Construction: Oakridge Builders, Tulsa, Okla.