Shawnee Mission Health Opens Harvest Kitchen as Part of Major Hospital Renovation

Shawnee Mission Medical Center's (SMMC) new Harvest Kitchen offers a dining experience that is a far cry from stereotypical hospital food. The grand opening of Harvest Kitchen on Dec. 15 is part of the hospitals $22 million renovation project to transform the first floor of the original hospital tower on its campus.

The new restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner for Shawnee Mission Health (SMH) employees, physicians and visitors. Its open Monday through Friday from 6:30 am to 7 pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 7 am to 2 pm. Harvest Kitchen serves food that is organic and locally sourced when possible, with dishes that highlight seasonally available produce.

"We are excited to have a new dining and servery area as part of our large renovation project," said Executive Director of Operations Dallas Purkeypile. "We believe that nutrition is an essential part of our health, and this new space demonstrates our commitment to keeping our visitors, physicians, employees, and patients healthy in body, mind, and spirit."

Harvest Kitchen prepares meals with various live-action stations offering fresh, made-to-order items, including:

• An action station allowing guests to select ingredients for their own gourmet, a custom salad made in front of them.
• A fresh food bar including a make-your-own salad bar and grab-and-go salad, sandwich, and snack options.
• A comfort station serving chicken, vegetables and other standard hot options.
• An international station offering dishes that range from Asian stir fry to Mexican burrito bowls. Guests will be able to choose fresh ingredients for made-to-order dishes.
• A pizza/pasta station with pasta and a variety of pizza options offered daily, made fresh in a gourmet pizza oven.
• A grill providing fresh grilled chicken sandwiches, hamburgers, veggie burgers and more.

Harvest Kitchen also offers multiple dining areas with a contemporary restaurant ambiance, including a new Mother Earth Coffee location and a cyber cafe area with charging stations and USB ports that are easily accessible.

"The new space allows us to provide new and improved dining options, but it also offers a respite and gathering place for our visitors, physicians and employees," said SMH's Architect, Design and Construction Manager Greg Highbarger. "We wanted to provide a place that encourages a sense of community and warmth."

In addition to Harvest Kitchen, the first-floor transformation includes additional offices, an updated administrative suite, a physician lounge, and state-of-the-art conference rooms. The entire renovation project is part one of a three-phase Master Plan to modernize the campus in order to better serve patients and employees.

SMH is working with a local team of construction and design partners including ACI Boland Architects; mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers Henderson Engineers, Inc.; civil engineers Bob D. Campbell & Co., Inc.; general contractor JE Dunn Construction and interior designer Meghan Dudek with Benson Wedd.