The Opportunity
At East Jefferson General Hospital, Morrison Healthcare Teams identified a viable opportunity to strengthen collaboration, elevate the experience, and align Food & Nutrition Services (FNS) with nursing and operational excellence. Through focused leadership, transparent communication, and a unified culture of care, this partnership has redefined how teams connect and approach patient care.
The Strategy
Nurse Engagement Leadership
A dedicated Nurse Engagement Leader was introduced to serve as a bridge between nursing and operations—bringing a clinical voice into decision-making, amplifying caregiver perspectives, and ensuring actions aligned with patient care priorities.
Culture of Care & Collaboration
Weekly accountability meetings fostered real-time collaboration, aligning nursing insights with culinary and service strategies.
A comprehensive Partnership Workbook centered around nine focus areas—including patient dining, culinary innovation, nursing collaboration, and the employee experience—guided progress and consistency.
Empowered Leadership
The nurse leader fostered an authentic connection with nurses, empathetic leadership, and business acumen strengthened trust across teams. Her contributions earned divisional recognition for excellence, reinforcing the value of integrated engagement leadership.
Elevated Experience
Since Q2 FY25, patient satisfaction scores have increased:
Culture Transformation
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- Culinary leadership promoted from within, creating trust and modeling growth opportunities.
- Renewed emphasis on quality, accountability, and recognition elevated morale.
- Recruitment focus: engaged, skilled team members with strong culinary backgrounds.
Enhanced Communication
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- Patient service teams reimagined, with consistent leadership, creating a stronger sense of purpose and engagement.
- Weekly performance updates to our partners, sharing key metrics on order accuracy, timeliness,
and service trends created visibility into operations, built accountability, and demonstrated our
commitment to continuous improvement. - By sharing real-time data and progress updates, we empowered nursing leaders and frontline teams
to see the direct connection between service performance and patient experience. These updates
sparked meaningful conversations, encouraged shared problem-solving, and reinforced trust
across departments.
Critical Success Factors
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- Consistent Leadership Presence: Active engagement on patient care floors built credibility and trust
with nursing teams. - Robust Team Support: A newly structured support model, led by Kevin Wiley, ensured consistent oversight, communication, and accountability.
- Alignment with Hospital Mission: Teams integrated their processes into LCMC’s mission and vision, fostering shared purpose and sustainable success
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnership across multiple service lines—including MyDining, Patient Solutions, Culinary, and Patient Experience—ensured a unified approach to elevating care.
- Consistent Leadership Presence: Active engagement on patient care floors built credibility and trust
Looking Ahead
Sustain Best Practices
Continue the collaborative strategies that have strengthened engagement and
operational excellence.
Continuous Improvement
Expand process enhancements and innovation across service lines.
Flourishing Partnerships
Deepen alignment among nursing, operations, and leadership to drive continued improvement in patient, client, and caregiver experiences.
