11. Health Discussion Part 4 - What can the Church Learn from the Medical Community‪?‬ Jesus Watchmen

The medical industry’s eureka moment was when they realized the very food, they were serving patients and physicians in hospitals was the very same food placing patients in the hospital in the first place. “U.S. health organizations are calling for hospitals to offer plant-based food options. Two major medical groups in the U.S. are calling on hospitals to end the irony and support patient health with healthy food.

The American Medical Association House of Delegates — a group which represents more than 200,000 physicians — issued a policy statement on June 14th at its annual meeting calling on U.S. hospitals to make some changes to hospital food for patients, staff, and visitors: Increase healthful, plant-based meal options, eliminate processed meat from menus, and provide and promote healthful beverages, including getting rid of sugary drinks and sodas. 

The American College of Cardiology also recently released new guidelines urging hospitals to improve patient menus by adding healthy plant-based options and removing processed meats. The guidelines recommend that “at least one plant-based main dish” should be offered and promoted at every meal. And that processed meats — bacon, sausage, ham, hot dogs, and deli meats — shouldn’t be offered at hospitals at all. They also call for a variety of vegetables and fruits to be served in all hospital cafeterias and on-site restaurants” (Oberst, 2017). 

We are seeing new healthy food movements sprout out of hospitals around the country. For instance, Dr. Michael Klaper, M.D of Midland Health in Midland, Texas has begun spearheading a new program with the philosophy, “Food Is Medicine.” They have implemented a “new, lifestyle medicine program for their employees incorporating the CHIP model (Complete Health Improvement Program) … The philosophy, "Food Is Medicine" is one Midland Memorial Hospital strongly believes in. As you can tell from the videos…, adopting a plant-based diet has had such a powerful impact on our employees and we believe our community should also have the tools to be successful (Midland Health, 2016).” This medical group has believed so heavily in this program that 2018 will be the third annual Food Is Medicine seminar. They also provide the visitor with all the resources they need to adopt a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. 

Additional medical groups of note are adopting a similar strategy include UCLA Medical Center is using organic food. At its cafe, St. Louis Children’s Hospital is offering low-fat, plant-based meals made with no animal products or oils and crafted in small batches by a local company. The University of Vermont Medical Center says it aims to have the most sustainable health care food service in the country. Patients and visitors can enjoy nutritionally dense, minimally processed foods, including a variety of locally produced ingredients. They allow patients to order food when they want it, rather than delivering trays with the same meals at the same time. And the cafeteria serves fresh, organic ingredients and multiple vegetarian options. Another positive development at hospitals are either gardens or farmers’ markets. For example, Stony Brook University Hospital, in Stony Brook, N.Y., has a 2,242-square-foot organic rooftop garden that supplies vegetables and herbs for patient meals. Several Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in California are teaching their staff about plant-powered eating to pass along information to their patients (Oberst, 2017).

According to a 2015 study published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports, hospital gardens created for staff, patients, and the community could lower rates of obesity in communities they serve and reduce public health disparities by providing members of the community’s greater access to fresh, healthy, plant-based foods. “Regional distribution of gardens was relatively even, with the greatest number located in the Midwest. The South, a region