They say a picture is worth a thousand words. That is exactly what Tomah Health Nutrition Services Director and Registered Dietitian Michelle Lindsay thought when she developed a four-page illustrated picture menu to help Afghan guests who received care at Tomah Health. Hundreds of Afghan guests received care at Tomah Health as part of "Task Force McCoy" which oversaw temporary housing and support services for approximately 12,600 relocated Afghans at the nearby Fort McCoy military reservation. 

Lindsay, along with assistance from the hospital’s marketing department, came up with the illustrated menu to assist Afghans who ordered hospital-cafeteria food during their hospital stay.

“The room service menu helped to eliminate the potential for culturally inappropriate meals beings served to this special population, to help nursing staff assist patients with meals in a culturally sensitive way and to increase oral intake to reduce hospital-acquired malnutrition,” said Lindsay. She said the nutrition services staff also developed recipes and food items that extended a welcome to the guests.

“This was a labor of love that created some challenges, but the end result was truly a way for us to make them get a taste of home,” Lindsay added. Some of the food items included walnut soup (letee) - a traditional post-partum soup, Afghan Kidney Bean Curry (Lubya), Qabili Palau - an aromatic rice dish- Afghan National Dish, naan, basmati rice, and some culturally appropriate snacks.

The nutrition service project was shared with Department of Homeland Security Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pritesh Gandhi, MD, MPH, during a roundtable discussion hosted by Tomah Health Sept. 23. Dr. Gandhi praised local health care staff for “bending over backwards” to provide care to the Afghan guests.