BCHS completes trans fats elimination initiative
Voluntary effort removes unhealthy substances from food service programs
Battle Creek Health System successfully and voluntarily eliminated industrial trans fats from its food service programs as part of a statewide initiative to improve patient and community health. The goal for Michigan hospitals was to remove industrial trans fats from hospital vending machines, cafeterias, and patient nutrition programs by January 1, 2010; BCHS eliminated those items before January 2009.
"We strive to provide the safest, highest quality care to all who walk through our doors," says Denise Brooks-Williams, president and CEO at BCHS. "That care extends beyond medical treatment and incorporates creating an all-around healthy environment for our patients, their families, friends, and hospital staff. Industrial trans fats are a contributing factor to the declining health of many Michigan residents; therefore, it is vital that our hospital make every effort to not only treat the ill, but help create a healthy environment for our community and for Michigan."
"Industrial trans fats have been linked to negative health effects such as increased levels of bad cholesterol and reduced levels of good cholesterol," adds John Fear, general manager of food and nutrition services for BCHS. "They also contribute to increased pediatric and adult obesity, which is now estimated to account for between 9 and 11 percent of total U.S. health care expenditures."
In response to this trend, and in an effort to help hospitals continue to be part of the solution to a healthier Michigan, the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) initiated this statewide campaign to voluntarily eliminate industrial trans fats from hospitals.
Snack food manufacturers, fast-food restaurants, the state of California and major cities including New York and Philadelphia have already acted to completely eliminate industrial trans fats in recognition of their damaging health effects. Michigan hospitals were asked to join the effort to demonstrate the hospital community's ongoing commitment to community health improvement.
"Hospitals provide care to all who walk through their doors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As community health stewards, our hospitals are committed to going beyond caring for the sick; we must guide preventative health and community wellness efforts through leading by example," says MHA President Spencer Johnson. "By eliminating an unhealthy substance like industrial trans fats from hospital food services, Michigan hospitals can become an even greater part of the solution to the struggling health status of many of our state's citizens."
For more information about Battle Creek Health System's trans fats elimination initiative, please contact: John Fear at (269) 966-8074.
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