Morrison Healthcare New Business Transition: The change affects 28 sites across TX, LA & NM in the CHRISTUS Health system. Learn more about how Morrison Healthcare is the right partner to help your system prioritize standardization, maximize efficiencies, and elevate the inpatient dining experience.
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Nicole Tribbett, Strategic Project Management, C1H
Tell me about your role as a strategic project manager.
We get to see the evolution of a new business transition–start to finish–beginning with a request for a proposal. We design and execute a plan that ensures a smooth transition of services and existing staff from the previous provider that sets everyone up for success. It’s exciting to be at the forefront of new business opportunities.
What steps did you take to transition 28 hospitals to go live?
It’s not something that happens in one night. The end result is the day of go-live– yes— but collaboration and teamwork with the client and our subject matter experts over the course of 12-16 weeks was key. We began working with our client and Morrison leaders in June to get to November 1st.
What kind of resources can Morrison Healthcare provide for a transition of this size?
We organized and orchestrated over 600 people as opening support personnel, by allocating our resources from additional locations in the short-term. We have a core traveling team within each of our support teams-but for an opening of this size, we recruited people who were open to traveling, or who want to learn about more transitions, for additional support. This provided us with a variety of expertise. We value the opportunity to build these relationships and watch them grow. It’s not just the sheer number of people— it’s the drive, the commitment, the expertise, from every team. Culinary, retail, clinicians, patient solutions, IT.
What do you feel particularly proud of?
This has never been done in the history of Morrison Healthcare. We’ve been close to this size, but we’ve opened in phases. So, we’ve never had all the sites in a portfolio, of that size, opening in one day. I’m proud of the volume, the sheer amount of resources we provide, and of the collaboration with our partner.
Can you speak to the value of the partnership with MHC?
It takes collaboration to tell a success story and to identify and anticipate obstacles for a seamless transition. A passion for the business is what drives us. We take it seriously and we deliver. Our teams never rest. It’s not just our products, programs, and services, but our commitment to ensuring operational success.
Jason Hewlett, Regional Vice President, Morrison Healthcare
From the perspective of an operator, what is it like to transition 28 hospitals, essentially overnight?
On October 31st, this system was under contract with one of our competitors, and on November 1st, they fully transitioned to Morrison Healthcare. So it’s overnight in that sense, but there are so many considerations, and so much happening behind the scenes to prepare for this kind of transition. HR considerations, installation of enabled technology, crafting menus. Lots of calls, research, webinars, and thoughtful collaboration to identify the needs, and the obstacles, and to support our teams to do their best work.
Why choose Morrison Healthcare?
Christus was seeking standardization that aligned with their mission and vision, to streamline lines of service, enhance opportunities for employee recruitment and recognition, and design a consistent menu for all 28 locations. Not all companies can make that happen. We have the scale, scope, and expertise to go beyond the expected food service experience in the healthcare space. They had an incumbent in this space for 20-plus years, and we needed to make sure they felt comfortable with this transition. We knew we could help them sunset with our competitor—and open the next day as Morrison Healthcare—with very little service interruption.
What role does our data transformation play in creating these partnerships?
Our clients are looking for full transparency. We have provided them with a client-facing dashboard so they can understand the what and the why. We can also use this data to drive the next innovation. The transition is just the beginning. What is next? How do we further develop these menus, to become better for the patients? How can we better support nursing staff, associates, and caregivers? By using this data strategically, we can always move forward, working to improve patient experience.
What is the role of enabled technology?
The MyDining software has made an impact on hospital operations by providing a convenient patient meal ordering system, which reports on meal orders and works to improve order accuracy and boost patient satisfaction scores. TaskVue– a program that provides clinical care workers visibility into the patient meal process and helps keep our nurses focused on patient care– is an option we are already exploring. Our focus on the client is ongoing, and we continually work towards better outcomes and process improvements.
How did Morrison Healthcare offer a valuable proposition to staff?
We transitioned 1000 employees and hosted over 55 individual frontline staff meetings to review benefits, pay, and job descriptions all to ensure a smooth transition. Jobs were protected, and valued, and all employees were offered a position. We made sure to keep their original hire dates, tenure, and rates–but with expanded opportunities for growth in their career field.
What kind of resources can we provide for a transition of this size?
No one else could have provided the amount of resources–the project management, the available leadership, the boots on the ground, to make this all happen with 60 days of additional on-site support to ensure that we were fully operational at all campuses. We implemented new Mydining technology in 26 locations on Day 1 and converted all existing retail POS in one night for opening. Because of this support, we were able to identify any potential hiccups, assess, train, educate, fill any gaps, and recruit talent when we needed to ensure operational success.
James Watton, Division Chef, Morrison Healthcare
What was the role of menu engineering in delivering value to the client?
We used e15 data insights to design a restaurant-style menu tailored for their specific market, influenced by Louisiana and Texas demographics that also aligned with our client’s mission to provide healthy options to patients, staff, and caregivers. With one menu at all 28 accounts, the preferences of our target population were top priority, while ensuring we achieved standardized consistency regardless of the location. This innovative, restaurant-style menu not only meets their preferences, but it also promotes healing and changes the perceptions about patient dining.
What is the value of Morrison can bring to a system of this size?
Our client wanted to move away from disparate processes and menus. We know what right looks like–and should look like—and we can replicate this across all of our campuses, ensuring our teams have the tools they need to deliver consistent, quality meals. We designed a systemwide catering menu and 28 customized retail menus for each hospital. By utilizing the Morrison branding packages, the Taco Shoppe, Cluck Cluck Boom, and Cinnplistic for example, our operators could focus on the execution and delivery of the new menu options while still providing the local favorites for that regional demographic.
What are you particularly proud of in regard to this opening?
It was the largest opening we have done as a company. We executed a full changeover, with updated retail menus and newly designed catering menus, on day 1 of go-live. All of our teams were highly engaged and provided support onsite. Not only did we accomplish this–but it’s been successful and sustainable since our transition. How we can influence the healthcare space goes beyond food service. We have created a new face of culinary, with our food philosophy front and center.
Fast Facts
28 hospital locations plus an additional 29 ancillary locations opened in one day.
28 sites across TX, LA & NM
28 patient menus converted to 1 system menu
1100 + managers, dietitians & frontline staff transitioned to our payroll
900 + Frontline associates onboarded with benefits and service dates day one
150 + Salaried managers and dietitians onboarded day 1 with full benefits
600 + individuals engaged from throughout the country engaged as support
