ACH Celebrates Registered Dietitian Day and National Nutrition Month
March is National Nutrition Month and March 14th is the Fifth Annual Registered Dietitians(RDs) Day. ACH recognizes our 18 RDs, also called nutritionists, for their dedicated service to our patients and families. The theme for 2012 is "Get Your Plate in Shape." The RDs at ACH want to encourage everyone to include a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and dairy on their plates every day.
Registered Dietitians are the food and nutrition experts. Our pediatric RDs specialize in optimizing nutrition for growth. Many have a master's degree and/or board certification in pediatric nutrition and nutrition support.
Inpatient RDs at ACH work with the medical team to provide nutrition therapy to congenital heart disease, neonatal, oncology, medical and surgical patients. They provide education on formula mixing, specialized diets, and make recommendations for nutrition either through feeds (both orally and through feeding tubes) or through IV nutrition (TPN).
Our outpatient dietitians not only see patients in our Nutritional Services office, they also cover clinics in physician practices such as Vent, IPC and Ketogenic diet clinic. They visit ACH Outpatient Care Centers to see patients in GI, pulmonology, CF, diabetes, and hemophilia clinics,and also provide private nutrition referrals.
Dietitians in Community Education teach families involved with the Fit4AllKids program how to maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating properly and participating in regular physical activity. RDs also work in Early Steps and Patient Care Food Services.
