NYC Gazette

Recognizing the role of nutrition in recovery, NYU Langone Health has incorporated meal delivery into patient discharge planning at its Manhattan and Brooklyn campuses. This initiative is a self-funded partnership with God’s Love We Deliver, offering customizable meal deliveries based on dietary needs to patients recovering at home.

The collaboration between NYU Langone Health and God’s Love We Deliver aims to bridge hospital care and home recovery through nutrition. Nancy Bourges, caring for her daughter post-transplant, described the service as an unexpected blessing. “She gets happy when they come,” Bourges shared.

Launched in February 2024, the partnership strengthens patient transitions from hospital to home by connecting eligible patients with God’s Love We Deliver before discharge. Kwan Hong Kim, a social worker at NYU Langone, highlighted the challenges patients face after leaving the hospital, including managing medications and securing basic nutrition. “Being in a hospital is not exactly the most stress-free setting,” Kim noted.

Allyson Schiff of God’s Love We Deliver sees this as a shift in healthcare delivery. “We are constantly demonstrating how medically tailored meals are part of a healthcare delivery system,” she explained.

The service has significantly impacted families like Bourges's. "The delivery people are very polite with my daughter," she said.

Research indicates that factors outside hospitals account for over 80 percent of health outcomes. Medically tailored meals can reduce hospital readmission rates by up to 13 percent. Jasmine Bar from NYU Langone emphasized facilitating transitions back into communities or homes: “The program gives us insight into challenges and opportunities for patients.”

Bar noted patterns in patient engagement with support services: “When we rolled it out...we’re seeing multiple phases at which they might drop off.” Bourges was initially hesitant about accepting the service but found items her daughter enjoyed.

Kim’s path to social work was shaped by personal experience as a caregiver. This background informs his approach to patient care: “Some of our patients are used to being the primary cook...having someone else prepare the meals is a huge logistical and financial weight off them.”

Despite early promising data, rigorous standards remain crucial. Bar stated: “Our standards for data evaluation are really high.” For many patients, transitioning home is challenging; hospitals can reshape comprehensive healthcare through careful attention to both patient care and program evaluation.