Patients at the 550-bed University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center can choose from menu items available from the various restaurant-style concepts in the center's retail cafes, according to an article on the Foodservice Equipment and Supplies website.

In addition to increasing the variety of the food available to patients, UCSF Medical Center's new program expanded its reach to all 1,200 patients — an increase of 50 percent, the article said.

Patients receiving on-demand room service get a 16-page menu that includes several food choices from 10 UCSF Medical Center restaurants. 

To bring the new restaurant menus into operation, the medical center had a minor kitchen renovation that included the addition of a deli table and rollers to transform an older trayline into a conveyor-type line.

While the food items originally appear on restaurant menus, all patient orders come into the main kitchen where staff plate and transport them to the requesting party.

Also part of UCSF's room service program are guest trays, which bring in extra revenue. A guest meal costs $7 and foodservice aides carry a hand-held device connected to Wi-Fi and take payment from credit cards.

Read the article.