James H. Quillen VA Medical Center patients served special Thanksgiving meal

Veteran patients at James H. Quillen VA Medical Center were treated with a special Thanksgiving meal on November 23, 2023.
 
Employees with Nutrition and Food Services (NFS) cooked a traditional meal including, turkey with gravy, honey baked ham, mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, and more for all inpatients within the hospital, domiciliary and community living center.
 
Brandy Goble, NFS Associate Chief of Food Operations, said “by providing patients a good meal who cannot otherwise be with family and friends is important.”
 
Goble further stated, “no Veteran wants to spend their holiday in the hospital, and we want to make patients’ stays the best possible by recognizing them with a special meal and ensuring they get to be part of a holiday celebration.”  
 
Goble said planning and preparation for the meal started well before November. NFS employees must order all ingredients and have it ready in plenty of time for cooking to begin. This year, 14 tom turkeys were ordered and slow-roasting them started the day before Thanksgiving. More than 220 meals were served to patients.
 
Medical Center Director Dean B. Borsos helped serve meals and thanked the NFS employees for their hard work and dedication to making patients such a priority.
 
“Our team members in NFS really do a wonderful job”, said Director Borsos. “They work very hard and enable our commitment to serving Veterans in meaningful and lasting ways. During this time of giving thanks, we are thankful for Veterans trusting us with their care, and we are thankful for all of our team’s incredible caring and compassionate efforts.”