Our clients say it best. If you would like additional references and reviews, please contact us.
From Willow Brook Christian Communities
“Bill Lutz is my secret weapon!” – Larry Harris, C.E.O.
From Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University
To Whom It May Concern:
It has been my pleasure to work with Bill Lutz over the past few years. He teaches a module in the Core of Knowledge Course which is a three week course for nursing home administrators-in-training. This course has been offered at the College of Business at The Ohio State University for over twenty-five years and is a requirement for licensure as a nursing home administrator in the State of Ohio.As a program manager for a number of years, I have watched many faculty presentations but few faculty have brought the enthusiasm and zeal to the classroom as Bill Lutz. Having been a successful owner/operator of several fine-dining establishments in the Columbus area, he has now brought his knowledge and expertise to the healthcare industry. His presentation effectively communicates how food service at long-term-care facilities can be greatly enhanced by using restaurant style service along with improved food preparation, individual menu choices, and impressive plate presentations. He uses video, personal examples, and written materials to illustrate how both the quality of residents’ lives can be greatly improved and costs in dietary labor, food and supplies can be reduced.Bill brings excitement to the classroom and shows a passion for change in the long-term-care food service environment that is infectious. I look forward to working with him in the future.
– Lynne M. Comer, Program Manager
From the Vermont Health Care Association
Dear Bill:
Thank you again for the presentations at the Vermont Health Care Association annual conference last month in Killington.
…your presentations were very well received….”fabulous, upbeat, motivating and gets to the point.” What more could a conference planner ask for? Thank you both for sharing your knowledge with us.
– Mary Shriver, Executive Director
From the Convalarium at Indian Run, Dublin, Ohio
“…Optimum Sloutions & Strategies were very thorough and helpful. After five months, we have noticed that our residents’ weights have stabilized and meal time has become a great time for social interaction. I would recommend this program to any facility.”
– Linette Wilson, Director of Nursing
From Davenport Good Samaritan Center
Three years ago we decided to look critically at our dining program. Resident satisfaction surveys indicated decreasing satisfaction with meal service, including quality of food served and service provided. We developed a committee from various departments throughout the facility, and called it “FISH,” modeled after the now-famous FISH philosophy. Several sub-committees were formed and we took the program as far as we felt we could. Fortunately, when we realized that we had gone as far as we could without professional assistance, we were able to attend a seminar that Bill Lutz of Optimum Solutions presented. We quickly realized that this program was what we needed to move forward.
The implementation of the program was in three stages. During the second stage, in November of 2004, Optimum Solutions’ Chef – “Chef Fred” – arrived to retrain the culinary staff in how to cook foods to order, using the freshest foods available, and cooking everything from scratch (homemade).
The final stage was the implementation. One year after the arrival of Optimum Solutions project managers we rolled out the program. Working as a team, nursing and dietary now focus on each resident, encouraging choice and providing improved service through a continual process of “cueing and QA-ing.”
As a facility Dietician I had hoped for several outcomes: that we would have more teamwork in the dining room, that weight loss would decrease, and that residents would be offered more choices. For years, dietary staff would tell nursing they were not able to provide anything other than what was on the menu. Part of that reason was policy, but also because the kitchen was not equipped/staffed to accommodate special requests. Instead of providing more choice, the option would usually be a supplement. Ironically, weight loss continued, in spite of supplement usage. A vicious cycle resulted with more supplements being provided at meals because weight loss continued!
Since inception of the program, our weight losses decreased by 23%. Specifically, I compared weight losses from the last quarter of 2004 to the same time quarter in 2005 and we have had a 47% decrease in weight losses!
I believe there are several reasons why weight losses have decreased. The main reason is the increase in service that has happened and the combined cooperation between nursing and dietary. We actually have employees from these two departments talking to each other and smiling at one another. Our residents have definitely benefited. Also, our supplement usage at meals has almost been eliminated. Residents are eating real food that they choose and are being given special items as they ask for them. Our supplement usage has decreased by 10% in the past year, and I expect this trend to continue.
As staff become more accustomed and comfortable with their roles in the dining room I expect it will carry over into other aspects of their service flow. Dietary and nursing staff has gained respect and appreciation for each other.
– Roberta Barrier, Dietician