Grady's new Jesse Hill Market provides food as medicine to improve patient health

ATLANTA, Aug. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Grady Health System's new Jesse Hill Market opened today, offering fresh, nutritious food for patients, staff, and the surrounding community. Located on Jesse Hill Jr. Drive on the ground floor of the hospital parking deck, the market takes Grady's Food as Medicine program to the next level as a patient resource for fresh produce, nutrition and cooking education.

"Our Food as Medicine program has proven very successful in helping patients with certain chronic conditions improve their health. The opening of the Jesse Hill Market allows us to expand this important nutritional service in a space that's easy for our patients to access. Patients with food prescriptions will be able to pick up fresh produce just feet away from our clinic building entrance. There will be cooking classes so that patients can learn how to prepare great tasting healthy meals. Plus staff, guests, and even people working close by can stop in for healthy meal and snack options," said John Haupert, president and CEO, Grady Health System.

Key to the success of the Jesse Hill Market is Grady's partnership with The Atlanta Community Food Bank and Open Hand Atlanta – two outstanding community organizations who know first-hand how important good nutrition is to good health.

Atlanta Community Food Bank is honored to collaborate with Grady and Open Hand Atlanta by providing fresh produce and shelf stable items to the Food as Medicine program. In addition to being involved in the design of Jesse Hill Market, the Food Bank will also provide access to Benefits Outreach screeners, who work to connect patients to critical benefits programs such as SNAP and WIC.  

"We are proud to partner with Grady and Open Hand Atlanta on this innovative Food as Medicine project," said Kyle Waide, President and CEO of Atlanta Community Food Bank. "We know how important food is to health and wellness, which is why this work is more critical than ever. Poor health and hunger are deeply connected; the exceptional work being done here will have a marked impact on the lives of many Grady patients by improving access to nutritious food."

Keeping Grady staff healthy is also a focus of the Jesse Hill Market, where healthy choices for grab and go meals and snacks will be available thanks to Open Hand Atlanta.

"Open Hand has worked alongside Grady Health System and the Atlanta Community Food Bank for decades to help our community address one of key social determinants of health – access to healthy food," according to Matt Pieper, Executive Director of Open Hand Atlanta. "So the Food as Medicine project is perfectly aligned with both our collaborative spirit and our ultimate mission. We're thrilled to be able to provide Grady patients and staff easy access to healthy, delicious, affordable menu options in the café at Jesse Hill Market through our social enterprise brand, Good Measure Meals. And we look forward to working together to finally break the devastating link between food insecurity and poor health in our community."

A successful joint fundraising campaign by Grady, the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Open Hand Atlanta provided critical support for the construction of the Jesse Hill Market and the first three years of program operating costs. Dozens of donors, including individuals, companies and foundations, invested generously to make this fresh approach to healthcare possible.

The Jesse Hill Market is open Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Fresh produce is provided to Grady patients who meet qualifications and receive food prescriptions through the Food as Medicine program.

About Grady Health System
Grady Health System is one of the largest safety net health systems in the nation. Grady consists of the 953-bed Grady Memorial Hospital, six neighborhood health centers, Crestview Health & Rehabilitation Center, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding, which is operated as a Children's affiliate.

With its nationally acclaimed emergency services, Grady is Atlanta's premier Level 1 trauma center – the metro area's only nationally verified Level 1 center. Grady EMS serves as the 911 ambulance provider for the city of Atlanta, South Fulton County communities, and numerous counties across Georgia. It also operates the state's first Mobile Stroke Unit, taking cutting-edge pre-hospital care directly to patients. Grady's American Burn Association/American College of Surgeons verified Burn Center is one of only two in the state. And the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center is a Joint Commission designated Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center.

Other key services/distinctions include Grady's Regional Perinatal Center with its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Georgia's first Cancer Center for Excellence, The Avon Comprehensive Breast Center, the Georgia Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, and the Ponce de Leon Center - one of the top HIV/AIDS outpatient clinics in the country. Grady is one of an elite group of hospitals to earn the Baby-Friendly USA international recognition as a Baby-Friendly Designated birth facility. Grady has earned the prestigious Stage 7 on the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model - Georgia's first adult acute care hospital to earn the highest rating for improving patient care and safety through health information technology.

About Atlanta Community Food Bank
The Atlanta Community Food Bank works to end hunger with the food, people and big ideas needed to ensure our neighbors have the nourishment to lead healthy and productive lives. Far too many people in our own community experience hunger every day, including children, seniors and working families. Through more than 700 nonprofit partners, we help more than 710,000 people get healthy food every year. Our goal is that all hungry people across metro Atlanta and North Georgia will have access to the nutritious meals they need when they need them. It takes the power of our whole community to make that possible. Join us at ACFB.org.

About Open Hand Atlanta
Open Hand Atlanta's mission is to help underserved individuals prevent or better manage chronic disease through tailored nutrition interventions, which include a wide variety of therapeutic meal plans as well as nutrition counseling and coaching delivered by an experienced team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists. With the dedicated support of 14,000+ annual volunteers, the agency currently prepares, packs and delivers over 6,000 meals per day throughout 52 counties in metro-Atlanta and rural Georgia, making it one of the largest community-based providers of medically-tailored meals and nutrition education in the country. Open Hand Atlanta also addresses general health and wellbeing through its social enterprise, Good Measure Meals – a health-promoting, gourmet quality meal plan offered to the general public, with 100% of proceeds supporting nutrition programs provided free of charge to Open Hand clients.

SOURCE Grady Health System