Kent State Interns

            With increased nutrient standards mandated by the USDA as well as tight budgets, school food service directors face challenges with increasing participation in their school lunch programs.   Fortunately, current research based on behavioral economics at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab in Ithaca, NY indicates how subtle changes in environment can expand participation at little to no cost.   The Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (known as BEN) was launched through a $1 million grant funded by the USDA which provides methods to implement budget friendly environmental changes; these initiatives can be found on their website at www.SmarterLunchrooms.org.             Ideas range from displaying foods with attractive lighting to use of more creative and descriptive names for menu items; other ideas involve employees at the r...

Blog Post 2 Gallimore, E. (2016). Turning classrooms into cafeterias to boost learning. Newswire. Retrieved from https://aminewswire.com/stories/511017788-turning-classrooms-into-cafeterias-to-boost-learning             As many as 30,000 schools in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah have been awarded a grant totaling $7.5 million to take breakfast out of the cafeteria and bring it into the classroom. Breakfast in the Classroom is a program that is associated with the School Breakfast Program which provides funding to states that operate nonprofit breakfast programs in schools and residential childcare organizations.             It is known that breakfast can improve school academics, yet some students who qualify for the School Breakfast Program do not participate in it.   Research has shown that stude...

            The United States is a multicultural nation.   The healthcare industry is realizing that, because America is such a diverse country, it must focus on building a multicultural healthcare team to improve care for patients from different countries as well as various ethnic and racial groups.   A multicultural team encompasses physicians, nurses, dietitians, and allied health care professionals who are fluent in other languages.   These providers can assist with interpreting as well as adopting cultural customs and traditions.   This is an important policy to improve; lack of proper communication between health care provider and patient may lead to adverse effects on quality of care.             A study published in May of 2002 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute addresses how outreach programs can have a positive effect on North Ameri...

Employers are putting a special emphasis on workplace wellness; they recognize the importance of promoting a healthier lifestyle for their employees.   Towers Perrin’s annual Health Care Cost Survey reports employers will pay about 6% more per employee for the year, an estimate of about $9,144.   Employers now are finding that promoting corporate wellness programs focuses on keeping employees healthier as well as the cost of health care down.   The emphasis in healthcare previously was on treatment of acute illnesses, however, there is currently a shift towards prevention.   This is a result of many chronic illnesses influenced by lifestyle management including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.   While workplace wellness will help keep healthcare costs down, they also encourage retention of employees as well as improving productivity. Corporate wellness programs are not necessarily a new idea; however, employers are now realizing how prevention may possi...

In the 2016, September edition of the Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Tony Peregrin writes about the growth and expansion of online communities.   With social media use increasing from 8% in 2005 to 72% now, it is important for registered dietitian nutritionists to use this platform to broadcast nutrition information to online communities.   Social media is a great method to reach out to people and build a following.   Online communities are present in a variety of networking sites including Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and even smart-phone applications. Social media can be an important tool for clinicians and health care providers to deliver accurate information to community members about treatment, diagnosis, nutrition information, and etc.   The majority of people research health related question on the internet, which is not always the most reliable method due to non-accredited sources.   Another benefit for clinician...

Fitzpatrick, T. (2016, October). Making farm-to-school work on the menu. Food Management . Retrieved from http://app.link.pentonfoodnews.com/e/er?s=1943367007&lid=64847&elqTrackId=97cf85239faa452aa17fc59726c4cba9&elq=b742ca5b864042bc9c6deeb65e4d8b29&elqaid=12420&elqat=1&utm_rid=CPG06000001659945&utm_campaign=12420&utm_medium=email&elq2=b742ca5b864042bc9c6deeb65e4d8b29              This article presented in Food Management magazine highlights the trend of farm-to-school and one school foodservice director’s program to create a healthier school environment. Allyson Mrachek is the director for child nutrition for Fayetteville Public Schools in Arkansas and oversees 14 schools within her district. She discusses the basic steps needed to begin a farm-to-school program, such as training kitchen staff on preparing whole foods and establishing relationships with local farmers. ...

This article discusses the some of the different career paths for registered dietitians.   The article brought up the title Regulatory Performance Director, RD as one of the newer career paths at the time of this publication, which deals the hospital compliance with the Joint Commission.   April Rudat explains    that registered dietitian Kessey Kieselhorst was a clinical nutrition manager who became the Director of regulatory performance at a medical center in Pennsylvania.   Kieselhorst made many moves to get this position including the vice president of the department and went through a total of 16 interviews before getting the job offer.   Only registered nurses had this position in the past and she met every qualification for the position with the exception of a nursing degree.   She is now responsible for three hospitals, 40 community practice sites, two ambulatory surgery centers, and one drug/alcohol facility.   It took a lo...