Kitchen Initiative Promotes Health

Two San Diego hospitals have collaborated on creating an unusual community health benefit: Communal meals.

Scripps Mercy Hospital and Rady Children's Hospital have created what is known as the “Teaching Kitchen,” a program intended to educate low-income residents of the San Diego area regarding better food and lifestyle choices.

The program is aimed primarily at Latinos and East Africans who live in San Diego's City Heights neighborhood. It is not only intended to encourage residents to abandon high fat and processed foods for healthier meals, but at breaking down barriers of mistrust over food issues. Diabetes, asthma and other chronic conditions plague the residents of the area, where 39 different languages are spoken

"If you have a party at your house, where do people congregate? The kitchen," said Lisa Vandervort, manager of the City Heights Wellness Center, which is conducting the classes."We did a large community assessment. Nutrition was up as one of the priorities. Everyone wants to know how to modify their foods to be healthy."

The California Hospital Association spotlighted the program with a professionally produced video, one of about a half-dozen it has produced on community benefits over the past year.

The CHA said in a statement that it produced the video in conjunction with its sponsorship of AB 1046. 

That bill, authored by Assemblyman Matt Dababneh, D-Encino, would provide greater clarity on the community benefits provided by hospitals and better align them with federal reporting requirements.

Many not-for-profit hospitals have come under criticism for not providing greater clarity and purpose for the community benefits they have provided, and some pressure has been brought to bear regarding the tax exemptions such institutions receive.

Late last year, the U.S. Treasury Department issued guidelines requiring hospitals to lay out their community assessments and benefit programs and how they will be fulfilled.