Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
October 28, 2016 01:00 AM

Hospitals crave antibiotic-free meat to reduce threat of superbugs

Steven Ross Johnson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Last October, California prohibited the use of medically important antibiotics in livestock for the purpose of promoting their growth.

    More hospitals have worked to eliminate antibiotics in the meat they serve in patient meals in an effort to address concerns about the rise of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.

    But making the transition to serving only meat from animals that have not been fed antibiotics can be challenging in terms of sourcing an available supply and getting it at a reasonable price.

    “We had tried in the past to go antibiotic-free, but between the price and the availability, it was tough for us to make the switch,” said Kyle Tafuri, senior sustainability adviser at New Jersey-based Hackensack University Medical Center. Tafuri said the hospital ran into difficulty a few years ago when it first attempted to switch to serving antibiotic-free chicken.

    “The food vendor we were working with didn't have enough supply, and the pricing wasn't good,” he said.

    Last year, Hackensack decided to make a stronger commitment toward its goal of making its meat servings 100% free of antibiotics. The hospital notified its group purchasing organization that it planned to break its contract with its vendor to find one that could provide more affordable antibiotic-free meat.

    “After we did that, that company was actually much more receptive,” Tafuri said. “Once they saw we were willing to move our dollars elsewhere, they started working with us a little bit more.”

    Soon, all of Hackensack's chicken and turkey meals were antibiotic-free, which required a retail price increase of 25 cents per meal to help offset the 30% increase in food cost. Roughly 85% of all meat served at Hackensack now is sourced from antibiotic-free livestock. The goal is to hit 100% by the end of the year.

    Despite the challenges, Tafuri said the hospital has made switching over to antibiotic-free meat a priority in light of the impact antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, or superbugs, has had on healthcare over the past decade.

    But as demand grows among healthcare providers, more opportunities are becoming available for collaborations among hospitals, food producers and vendors to find viable solutions, said Hillary Bisnett, national procurement director for the not-for-profit coalition Health Care Without Harm's Healthy Food in Health Care program. Health Care Without Harm worked with Hackensack to aid the hospital in finding meat suppliers.

    In August, Health Care Without Harm announced nine health systems—Advocate Health Care, Catholic Health Initiatives, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Gundersen Health System, Hackensack, Kaiser Permanente, Partners HealthCare, University Hospitals Health System, and the Veterans Health Administration—purchased up to 60% of their meat and poultry from producers who did not routinely use antibiotics.

    “Health systems have been demanding these products for several years,” Bisnett said. “We see an opportunity for healthcare to partner with their vendors, like food service management companies, food distributors and group purchasing organizations, to incorporate these producers and tip the scale around antibiotic overuse in animal agriculture.”

    Each year, more than 2 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur in the U.S. resulting in 23,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Health officials have identified antibiotic overuse by providers as a major driver for an increase in both the number and the severity of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, with some infections now resistant to several medications considered to be the last line of defense.

    The development of antibiotic stewardship programs within clinical settings has played a powerful role in combating the risk posed by antimicrobial resistance, but the majority of such medications sold in the U.S. are purchased by livestock producers.

    In 2014, 62% of antibiotics sold in the U.S. that are deemed medically important to humans were sold to food-animal producers, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

    The report found antibiotic sales for livestock had increased by 3% between 2013 and 2014 despite efforts in recent years to limit their use. In 2013, the FDA issued a rule asking drug companies to voluntarily revise labeling of antibiotics to remove references that promoted the use of such drugs for enhancing growth in meat-producing animals.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    finance graphs hospital
    Primary care physicians' pay growth picked up in 2022: MGMA
    Home cancer treatment faces challenges post-pandemic
    Home cancer treatment faces challenges post-pandemic
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing