From getting prescriptions filled to arranging for a ride home, patients have enough on their minds when being discharged from the hospital. One of the last things they need to worry about is their next meal. That is why Houston Northwest Medical Center gives each inpatient leaving the hospital a 32-ounce container of homemade chicken noodle soup that is ready to heat and serve.

“The soup helps make our patients’ transition back home a bit easier and also lets them know that we care about them as individuals, just like we would members of our own family,” says Drew Kahn, chief executive officer at Houston Northwest Medical Center. “The feedback we have received from patients and their families has been very positive. They appreciate this old-fashioned gesture.”

Each batch of chicken noodle soup is made fresh daily in the hospital kitchen and then delivered to nursing units. “This soup sends a personal message that we care about the patient’s well being,” says Terry Kirk, RN, MSN, EdD, chief nursing officer at Houston Northwest Medical Center. “It incorporates the idea of holistic medicine and reflects the culture of healing and wellness that we have at our hospital.”