AHF’s Annual Meeting Honors Eight Members

The Association for Healthcare Foodservice honored operator members with awards on June 5 during its 2015 Annual Conference in Salt Lake City.

The Louisville, Ky., association presented Beth Yesford, Senior Director-Support Services & Facility Management, Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C., with its highest award, the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. Yesford, who has been in the healthcare foodservice industry for 37 years, has been a member of AHF since its inception and has served as its president and treasurer in addition to the roles she has played in numerous committees.

Deedra Hoffart, Director-Nutrition at Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville, Colo., received AHF’s 2015 Partnership in Leadership Award, which honors her strong commitment to eliminating food-prep outsourcing. AHF’s Exemplary Leadership Award went to Tony Almeida, Director-Food & Nutrition at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, N.J. His colleague, Executive Chef Timothy Gee, received the Future Horizons Award.

Ami Bhow, Director-Patient Food Service, UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, and Michael Atanasio, Manager-Food & Nutrition and Patient Transportation, Overlook Medical Center, Summit, N.J., won Spotlight Awards for enhancing operations through technology, program development, implementation, innovation and/or creative use of managing finances.

Margaret Kipe, Director-Nutrition Services, Reading Hospital, Reading, Pa., won the Benchmarking Award of Excellence.

Todd Griffith, Vice President-Sales at Alto-Shaam, won the Making a Difference Award, AHF’s top honor for business partners and the media. The 10-year AHF member has played a key role in establishing a program with the American Culinary Federation that allows healthcare culinarians the opportunity to advance their careers with certifications that have typically been centered on chefs in hotels and restaurants.