History

With more than 25 years of operations experience in the food service management industry, Mitch Possinger opened the doors of Cura Hospitality in 1996 with only three staff members and one dining services director.

By cultivating an experienced team of clinical and food service professionals who share an attention to detail, a willingness to customize and a hands-on style, Cura obtained its first client.

In 1998, the Cura Culinary Council, a team of respected culinary professionals, was established to create unique dining programs, brands and menus to continuously improve food and dining services standards.  Enriched Foods ^SM, a supplement-free dining program to help individuals maintain weight and cognitive ability, and Flavors of Home ^SM, delicious homestyle recipes, were the first of several exciting dining programs created by the Cura Culinary Council to address the needs of residents and patients.

By the millennium, our skilled chefs and cooks met the challenge of adequately nourishing patients with dysphagia by introducing Cura’s Puree Creations ℠, real foods, freshly prepared and attractively structured. Individuals who enjoy Puree Creations ℠ also experience decreased weight loss, in some cases as little as 3 percent, and overall ranks far below 9 percent, the national average and clinical indicator for weight loss in long-term care. 

As Cura grew, the company’s top priority remained focused on guests and retaining clients as long-term partners. Cura Colleges, including the Cura Culinary College ^SM and Cura Service College ^SM, were created to offer all dining services staff culinary fundamentals and advanced culinary arts and service training in order to provide a higher level of food quality and service to customers. 

In 2001, Cura, with the support of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, created FarmSource®, a sustainable sourcing program that enhances the freshness and quality of product offerings by ensuring our people purchase safe and healthy product from some of the finest local farms, growers’ cooperatives and producers of food in the communities we know and trust. With over 100 partnering farms, our customers experience fresh, safe and delicious foods, while we support and help strengthen the local agricultural community.

Cura celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006 with more than 70 clients. Although Press Ganey resident and patient satisfaction measurement and improvement surveys continue to generate high satisfaction results, Cura led the restaurant and dining services industry by dedicating the resources to Manage Guest Experiences. This new total-company initiative is aimed at enhancing the guest experience through a complete understanding of and appreciation for their needs and expectations.

The year 2006 also marked Cura’s growing health concern over the link between trans fat and a higher risk of heart attacks and increased cholesterol levels. Cura partnered with Penn State University’s Center for Food Innovation to assess what manufacturer and fat-free product would best meet the company’s cooking and taste requirements for its dining service operations. As a result, Cura replaced cooking oil for French fries, chicken and other fried foods with trans fat-free canola oil to better meet the needs of its customers.

In the same year, Cura marked another milestone by being the first to remove artery-clogging trans fatty acids (a man-made substance that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil – a process called hydrogenation that increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats) from hospital patient menus. According to its first hospital client, Nick Jacobs, President and CEO of Windber Medical Center, Windber, Pa., “The fresh, trans fat-free food Cura prepares is healthier, with enhanced taste and quality. We are extremely fortunate to have Cura as our partner in our quest to preserve human life over shelf life.”

In 2008, Cura realizes the need to have multiple options and resources prepared to address community-specific culture change in older adult and senior living communities. To do so, Mitch Possinger assembled some of the best operators, marketers and clinicians from his organization, as well as senior living administrators who serve in advisory roles, to help the industry understand the trends and needs of the new senior. Together, they create action plans to address everything from points of dining service to designing greener communities.

Today, over 1,000 caring support team members are dedicated to Cura’s mission of Enhancing Life Around Great Food and embrace a LivingLife ^SM philosophy that nourishes the spirit and heals the body.

We invite you to join the more than 65 senior living communities and hospitals and their 20,000 satisfied residents, patients and guests we serve each and every day.

We look forward to serving you!