Fresh Food Kitchen MORE THAN A MEAL Braeside Hospital
An introduction from Dr Stephen Judd Dear Friend, Breakfast, lunch and dinner are about so much more than a meal they re times for rest, comfort, relationship building and showing care. That s why our passion is for every HammondCare resident and patient to be shown care through the food they re served food that s freshly prepared, aromatic, nutritious, relevant to individual health needs and culturally appropriate. This vision has already been realised at numerous locations thanks to partners like you. But the people in our care at Braeside Hospital in Fairfield are still served pre-made meals delivered daily and reheated onsite. That s why the new Fresh Food Kitchen at Braeside Hospital is so important, and why I m asking you to consider investing in this opportunity through a fully tax-deductible gift. The Fresh Food Kitchen at Braeside Hospital is a crucial link in the chain of the fantastic food culture we re committed to providing to the people in our care, no matter what their financial situation. And your support for it is all the more crucial because this project does not attract any government funding. So, thank you for your investment to provide fantastic food and most importantly to vastly improve the quality of life for all those in our care. Yours sincerely, Dr Stephen Judd Chief Executive, HammondCare
Freshly prepared meals, just like home This new Fresh Food Kitchen is really exciting. It s about so much more than providing meals. We re enhancing the quality of life of patients by preparing meals freshly, full of flavour and nutrition, and with cultural preferences front of mind. We want to show them love and care even with the food they re served. Peter Morgan-Jones HammondCare Executive Chef and Food Ambassador The food coming out of this kitchen is going to give a great new sense of comfort to those with end-stage cancer and all those being served at Braeside Hospital. We want to make the facility feel just like a home away from home by giving dignity to the whole experience. I am excited to work with other close friends of HammondCare to ensure its success. Maggie Beer Honorary Co-chair, Braeside Hospital Fresh Food Kitchen Campaign Preparing good food is a key way we can show care. Patients with different cultural backgrounds desire certain foods that are more comforting or appropriate at the end of life such as rice porridge. And the aroma and presentation of fresh food can entice patients with poor appetites due to nausea and the effects of ongoing treatments to eat. So flexibility in our meal preparation is very important. Dr Meera Agar Director of Palliative Care Braeside Hospital 1
The New Braeside Hospital Fresh Food Kitchen Mealtimes are an important part of life for us all. We all have warm memories of gathering around the dinner table as a family or having a special dinner with close friends. Mealtimes for those terminally ill with cancer are a critical part of patient care as the meals must be appetising, healthy, and the proper amount. They are also a time for joy, comfort, relationship building and showing care. This sacred aspect of mealtimes doesn t diminish when terminally ill with cancer. In fact, the whole food experience is a way we can show love to those coming to the end of their life. Patients at Braeside Hospital receive constant medical attention and are loved by all our doctors and nurses. But the inherited hospital system for meal provision is with a cookchill food delivery process where meals delivered to Braeside Hospital are reheated. There is no kitchen onsite. This means food provided to patients too often lacks good flavour, texture, aroma and variety. And standardised portion sizes are many times inappropriate for those in our care who have diminished appetite due to ongoing treatment and illness. The new onsite Fresh Food Kitchen, staffed by qualified catering staff and under the guidance of renowned chefs, will change everything we do in terms of food. It will enable us to provide much more than meals. We ll be able to prepare appetising food that s customised to the specific dietary needs of the people in our care. Our menu will cater to the many cultures represented at Braeside Hospital and all ingredients will be freshly prepared and only cooked once. The better food will, without a doubt, mean better physical and emotional health for all those we serve! 300 Average number of palliative-care patients per year 500 Average number of day patients per year 300 Meals served daily 72 Number of beds Five top cultures represented by patients: Vietnamese, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic Sick patients need to eat food, yet too often they get put off by the portion size and lack of variety. An onsite kitchen ensures we can provide a better variety of food in small portions, and the aroma and texture of the freshly prepared food will make it much more appetising so they ll actually want to eat. Claudette Elias Milan Nurse Unit Manager, Braeside Hospital Eating food is one of the pleasures of life, and mealtimes are often the most anticipated parts of the day for patients doing it tough. Freshly prepared, culturally specific food from the new onsite Fresh Food Kitchen will mean so much more to them during these hardest of times. Connie Chan Operations Manager, Braeside Hospital 2
Good, fresh and tasty food will really help. Peter, patient at Braeside Hospital Peter was born in Sydney s RPA hospital 81 years ago. In 1956 he married Evelyn and over the next 55 years they lived a full life together including raising two daughters, Shayne and Kay before Evelyn s passing in 2011. Today, Peter is terminally ill with cancer and a full-time patient at HammondCare s Braeside Hospital where he s grateful to receive the specialised care he needs. And he certainly sees the great need for an onsite kitchen. I m not much longer for this life, and I ve been really well cared for here I have no complaints at all, says Peter. But we do need the kitchen. The current pre-packed food is okay but it s too repetitive. We need variety. I like simple food like spaghetti Bolognese, fish and pizza. But at the moment we get mostly boiled vegetables and some meat. After a while you re just craving for something different. There are a lot of people in here who are really unwell. And I think that good, fresh and tasty food will really help them, Peter says. 3
Just a taste of home-cooked food is what they want. Liz, patient at Braeside Hospital Liz was born in Sydney and has lived all her life in Bonnyrigg. With her husband, Brian, she has raised five children two daughters and a son, and two stepsons while also working at Fairfield Hospital Emergency as a registration clerk. Liz was diagnosed with a rare form of incurable lung cancer five years ago. As her complex and challenging health issues continue, Liz has been a regular patient in and out of the Palliative Care service at Braeside Hospital, and is now facing the hardest time of her life. Though terminally ill, Liz still has concern for the patients around her just as she did during her years at Fairfield Hospital. Often they hardly eat and they just send the food back, she says. They feel really sick, and they need special food. For some, just a taste of home-cooked food or a much smaller meal is what they want. But the hospital can t currently provide that. A kitchen would help with this. In the army, one size fits all is fine, Liz s husband, Brian, chips in. But not in a hospital, where there are so many special needs and so many different cultures. 4
How you can help today The Fresh Food Kitchen project will see the construction and fit out of a commercial kitchen at Braeside Hospital to meet the significant and varied needs of our patients who are terminally ill with cancer. In addition, it will help ensure all 3,000 people in HammondCare facilities have access to the same freshly prepared, nutritious and comfort-filled food. HammondCare is committed to care for all, including the provision of highly nutritious food, regardless of financial circumstance. Yet, this project will not receive any government funding so we must look to community support to meet its cost. Your generous donation is crucial to meet the costs provided here and to ensure the new kitchen is operational by early 2015. So please consider how you can help, then respond using the enclosed reply form. Gifts of the following size are needed to successfully fund the Braeside Hospital Fresh Food Kitchen. Thank you for your generous support of this vital campaign. Number of Gifts Amount Total Cumulative Amount 1 $200,000 $200,000 $200,000 1 $100,000 $100,000 $300,000 3 $50,000 $150,000 $450,000 5 $25,000 $125,000 $575,000 10 $10,000 $100,000 $675,000 15 $5,000 $75,000 $750,000 25 $2,500 $62,500 $812,500 40 $1,000 $40,000 $852,500 80 $500 $40,000 $892,500 Many below $500 $207,500 $1,100,000 Itemised budget available upon request. If your nominated part of the Fresh Food Kitchen project is fully funded, your gift will be allocated to meet the costs of other parts of the project. Visit www.hammond.com.au/newkitchen to donate online and view regular updates of the kitchen construction along with more gift descriptions for areas of the kitchen. You can also donate by phoning 1300 426 666. All gifts of $2 or more are fully tax deductible. 5
Fresh Food Kitchen MORE THAN A MEAL Braeside Hospital I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Matthew 25:35 All donations of $2 or more are fully tax deductible. You can also donate online at www.hammond.com.au/newkitchen or by phoning 1300 426 666. Thank you for your generosity. The HammondCare Foundation ABN 48 000 026 219 Level 2, 447 Kent St Sydney, NSW, 2000 Ph 1300 426 666 www.hammond.com.au