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Institute Staff
Nutritionists at the Institute Help Improve Patients’ Quality of Life
March 29, 2018
March is National Nutrition Month, and this year’s theme is “Go Further with Food” by creating meals and snacks in advance that can also help reduce food loss and waste. Consulting with a nutritionist can help you “Go Further with Food” with a personalized plan to meet your unique lifestyle, preferences, and health-related needs.
Lucky for Institute for Family Health patients — we have nutritionists on staff at many of our health centers. Nutritionists are experienced nutrition professionals with at least five years of experience in the field and have the expertise to translate the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthy living. At the Institute, their work is focused on developing personalized, positive lifestyle plans for individuals in our diverse communities, providing medical nutrition therapy among all age groups. As a part of the Institute’s patient-centered philosophy, dieticians are integrated into our care teams to help improve outcomes related to chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
Not only do dietitians teach skills and share information in the health center, but they also assist patients in putting those strategies into practice outside of the health center walls. Dietitians at our Bronx health centers will soon partner with Bronx Health REACH to host monthly supermarket tours. These are opportunities to reinforce knowledge and develop skills, such as label reading and price comparison, at the point of purchase. Participants of the tours also have the opportunity to receive a $10 grocery giveaway to spend on fruits and vegetables!
In addition, Institute dieticians are committed to bringing fruits and vegetables into our patients’ communities where high-quality produce may be scarce, expensive, or of poor quality in local supermarkets. At the Mt. Hope and Stevenson health centers, patients are able to participate in the Winter Farm Share through Corbin Hill Food Project where they pay the reduced price of $10 for a box of 6-7 vegetables and fruits each week. The Family Health Center of Harlem partners with Grow NYC to offer their Fresh Food Box all year round, to bring local and seasonal produce to patients at below retail price.
This blog post was submitted by two of the Institute’s registered dieticians, Nazirber De La Cruz, RDN, CDN and Casey Luber Seiden, MS, RD.
