Norwood Hospital Introduces “Parent Picnic” Take-Home Gourmet Dinners for New Parents-October 16, 1989

When Joanne Bartucca checked out of the maternity wing at Norwood Hospital weeks ago, she left with two precious bundles of joy: newborn Paul Mario Bartucca (weighing in at 11 pounds, 5 ounces) and a complete gourmet dinner for two packed in an insulated basket.

To ease the transition home for exhausted new parents, Norwood Hospital is providing complimentary “parent picnics”—a thoughtful initiative designed to give mom and dad one less thing to worry about on their first night home with their newborn. “I think it’s a great idea,” said Bartucca, noting that she was recuperating from a Caesarean section and certainly wasn’t looking forward to cooking.

Adapting to Shorter Maternity Stays

According to Herbert Decato, the hospital’s director of food and nutrition services, Norwood is the sole area healthcare facility offering this unique service. “It’s a congratulatory meal, something simple that dad can prepare for his wife,” Decato explained.

The program represents an evolution in hospital hospitality. Approximately a decade earlier, Norwood Hospital initiated a tradition of serving new parents a celebratory dinner on fine china in a private dining room. However, as modern medical practices shifted, maternity stays grew increasingly brief. Assistant Director of Food Services Jane Timmerman noted, “New mothers used to stay three or four days. But now patients are coming in, having the baby and going home before we have time to prepare a dinner for them.”

Furthermore, hospital administrators found they were maintaining a dedicated dining room and staff while only 60 percent of patients were utilizing the amenity. Decato solved the dilemma a year prior by drawing inspiration from a neighborly tradition: “In our neighborhood, when someone has a new baby, my wife will cook up a little something for them, some stuffed shells and a bottle of wine. I thought that was a nice, neighborly thing to do and that the hospital could do something like that.”

Gourmet Menus and Community Response

The frozen, oven- or microwave-ready baskets cost the hospital roughly $20 each and are distributed to roughly 100 new parents every month.

• The Menu: Parents can select from entrees including beef Wellington, boneless chicken breast, or baked stuffed shrimp. Meals are accompanied by vegetables, Norwood-style baked stuffed potatoes, homemade rolls, dessert, gourmet coffee, and a split of Cordon Negro champagne packed alongside two wine glasses.
• Quality Control: Hospital aides such as Barbara Anello and Mary Finley prepare the baskets using the exact same quality ingredients served to regular patients.
• Reception: Local mothers have offered glowing reviews. Barbara McKenzie of Norwood, who welcomed her son in August, recalled being pleasantly surprised: “The shrimp were excellent. In the hospital, I’m not too crazy about the food they serve. But this was good. I don’t know who cooked it, but it was really good.”

While Decato acknowledged that a gourmet basket won’t be the deciding factor when expectant mothers choose a hospital, he views it as a valuable asset to the maternity center’s marketing strategy and a welcome counter to traditional jokes about hospital food. Although other regional hospitals have already inquired about replicating the program, Timmerman emphasized that the baskets remain strictly a maternity benefit and will not be expanded to general patient discharges.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger