Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach, Virginia and food partner Morrison Healthcare have launched a concept to ensure clinical staff have quick access to healthy food around the clock, especially overnight when the cafeteria is closed.
Breakaway Bay is a badge-access area where nurses and clinical staff can grab a healthy sandwich, wrap or salad, fresh fruit or candy, bottled waters and teas and fresh coffee by the cup.
The project converted a small fifth floor conference room to a comfortable space with brightly lit open shelves for refrigerated items, a cooler for bottled drinks, a coffee station, racks for fresh fruit and low-fat chips, and a self-checkout station.
The work involved adding electrical capacity for the refrigerators and putting in an IT connection for the checkout station. Packaged items are similar to the grab-n-go section in the cafeteria, but the selection is bigger and focused on healthy choices.
In addition to healthy foods, Breakaway Bay features multi-colored salt lamps, which staff requested, a video screen with self-care messages and a large line-art drawing staff can color on along with a basket of colored pencils. When the work is completely colored in, it will be framed and re-hung as a piece of art.
