Local Institutions: Eating Gluten Free When You Can’t Choose Your Food

At our June meeting we had a discussion about being in a hospital and the availability of gluten free food.  Luckily none of us had recent experience.

If the hospital admission is planned, you can check with your doctor about when you will be able to eat and the hospital dietary department about their gluten free practices.  You may even want to bring your own food.  The last thing you need is to have gluten-exposure issues when you are recovering from illness or surgery.

But what about local schools?  And rehab facilities?  And nursing homes?  What if you are incarcerated?

How well do institutions in Northeast Ohio anticipate the needs of those of us eating gluten free?

Feel free to share your experience by adding a comment.

 

5 thoughts on “Local Institutions: Eating Gluten Free When You Can’t Choose Your Food”

  1. Want to report that University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (Main Campus) is a “Validated Gluten Free Safe Spot”. There is a gluten free patient menu and when calling to order the need for gluten free is confirmed. I spoke with a chef who said there is a separate gluten free kitchen and patient food is delivered separately.

  2. I was at Cleveland Clinic Fairview for a surgery with one night stay anticipated. I packed snacks and planned to get items like fruit and rice from the patient menu. Even with an unplanned second night added to mt stay, it worked out as I was in discomfort and didn’t really want to eat.

    A couple of months after that I had a second unplanned surgery at Cleveland Clinic Marymount. I was in the hospital for almost 3 days and had to eat baked chicken, rice, and green beans the entire time as nothing else was safe. When I asked my surgeon to look into dietary options, his response was “This is a hospital, not a 5-star restaurant.” Yes, he knew of my celiac and it was noted in my chart, but it wasn’t listed as an allergy so it made everything difficult.

    I was told that Cleveland Clinic Main Campus has a GF menu, but it hadn’t been rolled out to the other facilities yet. Very frustrating!

  3. Under ADA, schools are required to provide a gf lunch. I have not explored this for my child, he packs every day.

    Years ago at Aultman hospital, they insisted my chicken was gluten free. My mom did some investigating and found the box of chicken in the cafeteria freezer labeled “high gluten”.

    The best hospital experience ever was when my child was at Akron Children’s. They had a fantastic gluten free menu that included sandwiches, burgers, cereal, desserts and so much more. Because I was a breastfeeding mom and my son was under one, I got the meals. I was so stuffed!

    1. Our 45-year-old daughter was diagnosed with early onset dementia. She could not remain in our GF home, so we had to research nursing homes providing dementia care and there were very few. In addition to celiac disease, she has sleep apnea and needs constant attention at night to keep her APAP mask on. We found that Rae-Ann Westlake serves GF meals and trains kitchen staff in proper handling to avoid cross-contamination. Our daughter is currently a resident there.

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