Arkansas Children’s Hospital Upgrades Patient Menu, Removes #HazardousHotDogs
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#HazardousHotDogs–Under new management, Arkansas Children’s Hospital has made its patient
menu more healthful by removing cancer-causing hot dogs. Hot dogs should
not be served to patients because they are the No.
1 choking risk for children and are linked to an increased risk
of colon cancer says the Physicians Committee—a nonprofit of 12,000
doctors. Arkansas is in the colon
cancer corridor, a cluster of nine states with high death rates from
colorectal cancer.
“Arkansas Children’s Hospital is becoming a leader in preventing
diet-related diseases by providing tasty, plant-based options and
removing hot dogs from patient menus,” says Lee Crosby, R.D., staff
dietitian for the Physicians Committee.
This menu upgrade aligns with a resolution recently issued by the
American Medical Association (AMA). The resolution calls on hospitals
“…to improve the health of patients, staff, and visitors by (1)
providing a variety of healthful food, including plant-based meals and
meals that are low in fat, sodium, and added sugars, (2) eliminating
processed meats from menus, and (3) providing and promoting healthful
beverages.”
The AMA’s call to eliminate processed meat, like hot dogs, is supported
by strong scientific evidence. The World Health Organization warns that
processed meats are “carcinogenic to humans” and there is no
amount safe for consumption.
Earlier this year, the Physicians Committee wrote to the CEO of Arkansas
Children’s Hospital and also put up bus interior advertisements urging
the hospital to protect patients from #HazardousHotDogs. The ads were
installed in the 44 available buses in Little Rock’s fleet.
The 44 bus interior ads featured a photograph of a girl holding a hot
dog with the words “Choking Risk Now, Cancer Risk Later?” Viewers were
urged to “Ask your local hospital to protect patients from
#HazardousHotDogs! www.MakeHospitalsHealthy.org.”
The ads were posted the week of Feb. 6 and were displayed until March 5,
2017. The Physicians Committee also issued a report highlighting the
health risks of processed meats.
The Physicians Committee’s public health campaign attracted the
attention of decision-makers in Little Rock, including a local physician
who offered assistance.
In March 2017, the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in
Jackson, Miss., announced it would remove
hot dogs from its patient menus. This places the four hospitals on
the UMMC campus on the path toward compliance with the AMA’s
recommendation on processed meat.
To prompt this change, the Physicians Committee placed a billboard near
UMMC’s Batson Children’s Hospital and sent a letter urging the hospital
to protect patients from #HazardousHotDogs.
Patients and health care providers are often concerned that healthful
foods are more expensive, but a recent study shows that healthful,
disease-fighting food can be inexpensive. Published in Journal
of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, the study finds that
omnivores can save $750 a year by simply switching to a plant-based diet.
For an interview with Lee Crosby, R.D., or another expert, journalists
please contact Jeanne McVey at 202-527-7316 or jeannem@pcrm.org.
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is
a nonprofit health organization of 12, 000 physicians who promote
preventive medicine, conduct clinical research, and encourages higher
standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.
Contacts
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Jeanne S. McVey,
202-527-7316
Media Relations Manager
jeannem@pcrm.org
