Antibiotic-free meats will be available at all Advocate Health Care hospitals beginning October 26, 2015 which is also the celebration of Food Day, a day aimed at encouraging Americans to “change their diets and our food policies.” As the first health system in the area to address the issue of antibiotics in meat in a comprehensive manner, Advocate will begin adding antibiotic-free meats to patient and visitor menus beginning with ground beef, beef patties and roast turkey. Over the next few years, additional antibiotic-free meats will also be added.

“This is the right thing to do for our patients,” said Dr. Rishi Sikka, senior vice president of clinical transformation for Advocate Health Care. “As a health care system, we stress the importance of antibiotic stewardship and this is another component of our overall approach.”