When the 800-bed Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania needed a new operator, management turned to Innovative Hospitality Solutions to manage the selection process and help negotiate the contract. Once the new vendor was in place, IHS was called in to implement its CrossCheck quality assurance program and collect mission-critical data that would help food and nutrition managers improve short-term issues and develop long-term plans.

Solution: Thorough evaluation and analysis

IHS’ expert evaluators observed and evaluated nearly 300 test areas over three days in September 2020 with a follow-up evaluation in May 2021. They looked at patient dining, retail, and kitchen safety and sanitation. The CrossCheck patient dining evaluation, for example, examined 119 items, including food temperature, quality and meal delivery. Results were shared with management using CrossCheck’s comprehensive reporting, including plans, photographs, evaluator notes and recommendations.

Results: New systems to address issues

With the initial CrossCheck data as a guide, patient dining scores increased from 92% to 95% when the evaluation team returned in May 2021. IHS’ team helped the client create and implement policies and procedures on a day-to-day basis to address repeat concerns. CrossCheck provided the client with an expert, independent perspective, gathering data under its new operator to assess performance and quality.

Summary: Immediate results

  • Developed policies and procedures for new operator performance
  • Improved patient dining experience outcomes
  • Documented baseline quality assurance data to gauge future performance
  • Realized improved patient dining evaluation scores by 3 percentage points