
After many months of deliberation, Minneapolis based healthcare system, Minto Hospital Health has decided to implement new safety regulations for all refrigerators located throughout the health system.
Peter Diplo (CEO – Minto Hospital Health) stated: “After we received several hundred complaints of nurse’s lunches being eaten, disappearing, or their overly large lunch bags being removed from the refrigerator altogether, and after this heated debate at our monthly Forum, it has become obvious that we must put safety measures in place to secure everyone’s lunch. Not only to garner back that lost nutritional value, but also the peace of mind of all our nurses.”
We here at Next Move visited one of the ICUs at Minto Hospital Health and interviewed staff nurses about the healthcare system’s new policy. Jeff Hercules, an ICU nurse for eight years said: “I will miss the daily tuna fish sandwiches named Linda that just happened to be in the refrigerator every morning. Who names a tuna fish sandwich Linda? I looked forward to my time with Linda, so I’m little sad that the hospital has decided to take this away.” Victoria Premadero, a CNA on the floor, said: “I personally think this isn’t right and will miss the days I was able to bring my oversized lunch bag and get my little workout in trying to close the refrigerator door every morning. It’s just not ok they’re taking away my right to exercise. And I always looked forward to my salad because I started my diet again.”
The 1:1 nurse to refrigerator ratio, taken to protect lunch instead of patients, has been seen by some patients as outright scandalous: “We should be their first priority, not their food,” said Maria Delgaro of St. Paul, Minnesota.
“Although we understand that patients do come first, we must do what we need to, to protect those lunches so our nurses don’t go hangry,” ICU Director, Dave Minnis said.
Minto Hospital Health hopes the new measure will give nurses some peace of mind knowing their food won’t be removed from the refrigerators and allow more space for other nurses who are trying some new delicacies.
The new policy officially goes into effect January 14, 2021, but many hospitals at Minto Hospital Health have already started implementing this new measure. We here at Next Move will follow this story for updates.
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