No one wants to spend time in a hospital, but wouldn’t delicious food make it a little more, well, palatable?

That’s the premise behind an effort by several Maine hospitals to offer cuisine- quality food to patients, which Meredith Goad captures in her cover story, “Once an afterthought, hospital food goes upscale.”

Carol Coultas

Not only did Meredith track how this national trend is playing out here in Maine, but she also volunteered to taste test meals at the three local hospitals. Risotto, anyone? Beef tips bourguignon? Oreo parfaits?

Who would have guessed?

I’m happy to report that the last time I was admitted to a hospital was to deliver a baby. I remember the staff there being especially helpful and patient when it came to breast-feeding instructions. Turns out that’s no aberration. Maine hospitals and birthing centers get really high scores on the Centers for Disease Control’s breast-feeding report card. Jennifer Van Allen explains why, and lays out best practices (in case there’s an expectant woman in your life.) The story, “Maine’s policies, practices encourage breast feeding.”

Maine also beats the national average in the percentage of people who smoke, and those who try to quit. Nicotine patches are by far the most popular product people use here to try to stop smoking, according to Jessica Hall’s report, “More options exist for kicking the smoking habit than ever before.” A helpful box lets you roughly calculate the cost of quitting versus continuing to smoke (in case you’re inclined to take the plunge … again.)

Most people associate speech therapy with schoolchildren or preschoolers whose verbal skills need a boost to catch up to their peers. But according to federal data, the biggest demand for speech therapy services will likely come from aging baby boomers who may suffer strokes or other ailments that result in impaired speech. The University of Maine has developed a telepractice model that allows therapists and speech pathologists to deliver services via video conferencing that can reach patients in the most remote parts of Maine. James Patrick’s story, “Technology brings new speech therapy services to rural areas.”

We also offer a helpful column from two medical librarians who reveal how to make sure the health information you’re finding online is legit. Read the insightful piece by Christine Fleuriel and Susan A. Bloomfield.

And, finally, workplace wellness programs are growing across the country. I checked in with two companies that have had significant success with wellness programs here, even though they haven’t achieved marked savings on health insurance premiums as expected. But their employees have inspiring stories to tell.

If you have an idea for a Healthy Maine story for a future edition, please drop me a line at ccoultas@pressherald.com.

Like those food-focused hospitals, we want high grades in customer satisfaction.