- Showing off The Gold Plate Award certificate are members of The Bellevue Hospital’s Dietary Department. Left to right are Tracey Nason, Rose James, Joe Hoff, Christine Fegley, Chris Norris, Mariah Wiseman, and Kelly Ried.
The Bellevue Hospital’s (TBH) Dietary Department has been awarded The 2012 Gold Plate Award for food safety practices. The award is administered through the Huron County General Health District.
The Gold Plate Award is an acknowledgement given to food services that have excellent food safety practices. This award is given annually and is based on the facility’s performance from the previous year. It is a voluntary program.
“The staff is very, very happy. This is a big deal for them,” noted TBH Dietary Leader Joe Hoff. “The staff receives extensive food service and safety training, and most of my staff has been trained in food safety through the Huron County Health Department as part of their certification process.”
The application was submitted in February of 2012 and the awards were presented during the first week of January, 2013.
Continued Hoff, “I am extremely proud of my staff for all of their hard work and effort. It takes a lot of work each day to ensure food safety when you work in our field. This award is an excellent opportunity to show the community how important food safety is to us.”
The Gold Plate Awards are reserved for facilities that meet the following criteria:
- Have a valid FSO or RFE license
- Send in an application
- Receive a score of 90 or higher
- Have not had any warning letters are administrative hearings in the past two years
- Have not been responsible for a foodborne outbreak in the last two years.
Each facility starts with a score of 100 and points are then deducted for critical and non-critical violations as reported by the Huron County General Health District.
“We are very proud of the accomplishments of our Dietary Department. Being a hospital, our first concern is making sure we present the best quality food since we serve over 600 meals each day to patients, employees, and community members,” said Patty Semer, TBH Vice President of Administrative Services. “This award is also a testament that the food is prepared in a clean and healthy environment.”