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Local Voices

Winchester Rehab Patients Rave Over Innovative Dining System

Winchester Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, a 121-bed skilled nursing center owned by Salter HealthCare and located at 223 Swanton Street in Winchester, recently introduced “Campus Cuisine,” a new roving “restaurant” designed to offer rehab patients greater food choices delivered directly to their rooms. “Campus Cuisine” was created by Renato De Leon, Winchester’s Food Service Director, to augment the facility’s dining options. Comprised of a series of heated and chilled carts complete with pizza stones and toasters, “Campus Cuisine” offers a breadth of freshly prepared options certain to appeal to every patient. Beyond the day’s main meal options, which could be marinated steak tips with caramelized onions or herb-crusted salmon served with produce from local vendors, patients may also choose from a variety of sandwiches, pizzas, and pasta dishes. Among the chilled carts’ options are coffee and tea, juices and chilled spring water, fresh fruits, yogurts, cereals, and cottage cheese and fruit platters. The room-service style “Campus Cuisine” is designed to empower patients who might have lost some independence due to an acute illness. After extensive work with the rehabilitative team, maintaining independence is vital to patients’ outlook and mental state and to Winchester’s goal of helping them recover and return to their normal lives more quickly. The “Campus Cuisine” program is an expression of Salter HealthCare’s revolutionary standard of care, which aims to be comprehensive and gracious. “Patients rave about this new mobile dining program. They enjoy the service provided by our friendly dining staff and the delicious food. Patients say they feel indulged, even pampered. We strive for our patients to feel at home and the feedback says we are succeeding,” noted De Leon. Rooms at Winchester are designed to keep patients’ routines as close to normal as possible and provide such amenities as flat screen televisions, tasteful wardrobes and dressers, iPod docking stations, inspiring artwork, and WiFi capability. As Deb Donovan, RN, Director of Marketing explains, “Comfort and emotional support are often underestimated when patients are working so intensely towards their rehabilitation. We believe our philosophy of compassionate care and our hospitable surroundings promote health and enable our patients to recover faster.” Founded in 1956, Salter HealthCare is a family owned and operated health care provider with a reputation for excellence in the health care community. With three rehabilitation and skilled nursing centers in Winchester and Woburn, Salter offers specialized rehabilitation programs, short-term care, subacute care, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, long-term care, skilled nursing, and hospice care, as well as respite services. To learn more about Salter HealthCare, call (781) 729-2200 or visit www.salterhealthcare.com.

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