Freep.com: Hospital food has always gotten a bad rap, much of it richly deserved.
But the Henry Ford Health System is taking unprecedented steps to change that, along with many other traditional hospital practices, in a $350-million community hospital and wellness complex opening in February on 160 scenic acres in West Bloomfield.
Its multifaceted approach is so different that it has attracted the attention of health care experts around the country.
In addition to national-class clinical services, the 300-bed hospital is to offer amenities ranging from homelike private rooms with couches where relatives can sleep comfortably overnight to relaxing in-room whirlpool tubs for mothers in labor.
Wellness services include health coaches, holistic therapies and personal trainers -- part of an emerging national trend to help people control or prevent chronic conditions that lead to expensive hospital stays.
But one of the hospital's most innovative elements is its culinary program, which involves a trio of partners: prominent metro Detroit restaurateur Matt Prentice, the nationally known culinary department at Schoolcraft College in Livonia and Chef's Garden, an elite organic farm in Ohio that sells exclusively to America's most famous restaurants.
