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St. Helena Hospital food service executive wins Premier Culinary Creations Award

St. Helena, Calif., Chef Erick Neuharth selected by audience of peers for lasagna roulade dish

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (July 2, 2009) – The Premier healthcare alliance has announced Erick Neuharth, executive chef at St. Helena Hospital in St. Helena, Calif., has been named the winner of Premier's 2009 Culinary Creations Award.

Neuharth was selected by more than 300 of his peers at Premier's annual Foodservice Forum, held in conjunction with its 2009 Annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition, which drew more than 2,000 healthcare systems and supplier attendees to Anaheim, Calif., June 16-19.

Neuharth was among five finalists whose award-nominated dishes were prepared for all Foodservice Forum attendees to enjoy at the annual banquet on June 17. Attendees voted during the meal for their favorite entree, selecting Neuharth's roasted red pepper lasagna roulade with house made tomato sauce and alfredo as the winner.

"We are proud to honor Erick and all of the Culinary Creations finalists for providing patients with high quality, healthy, mouth-watering dishes," said Debby Kasper, RD, LD, Premier manager of Clinical Nutrition. "The Culinary Creations Award is an opportunity for Premier's Foodservice members to honor their peers by selecting what they consider to be the best of the best in healthcare foodservice."

"I'm honored to be recognized by my peers and Premier's outstanding organization," said Neuharth. "I am privileged to have a job where I can use my culinary training to provide quality meals to St. Helena patients and employees. The mission of St. Helena is to enhance health status in our region which allows our employees' potential talents to shine, so we can improve the quality of life in the communities we serve."

The four finalists and entrees for the award include:

Michael Kiley, director of Nutrition and Food Service at Glen Clove Hospital in Glen Clove, N.Y. – orzo paella primavera;
Patty Brezany, Food Service director at The Wellington, The Alton in Saint Paul, Minn. – southwest manicotti;
Ron Hall, executive chef at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa – Tuscan style beef with gemelli; and
Kris Saradpon, assistant productions manager at San Diego State University in San Diego – penne pasta in a sun-dried tomato light cream sauce, green asparagus tips, garlic shrimp, smoked sausage, and grilled lemon-rosemary chicken breast.

About the Premier Foodservice Program

The industry's largest healthcare foodservice purchasing program offers savings to more than 2,100 hospitals and 58,000-plus other healthcare sites across all 50 states.
Members purchase more than $1.9 billion in foodservice products and supplies.
Premier's clinical nutrition initiatives are guided by a Clinical Nutrition Subcommittee of 18 registered dietitians from across the nation, representing large and small member facilities in urban, rural and suburban areas.
The task force includes foodservice directors, clinical nutrition managers and clinical dietitians.
The program combines sole-source distribution through U.S. Foodservice, aggressive contracts with foodservice manufacturers, industry leading value-added services, and educational opportunities.

About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 80,000-plus other healthcare sites using the power of collaboration to lead the transformation to high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by hospitals, health systems and other providers, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier has worked with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has an office in Washington. https://premierinc.com. Stay connected with Premier on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.