St. John's Nutrition Center offers variety of services

St. John’s Nutrition Center is located at Hammons Heart Institute and is staffed by registered, licensed dietitians. Phone: 820-5433, Fax: 820-9315.

Physician referral is required for Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT). Individual MNT consultation with a dietitian is provided for a variety of medical conditions for which dietary modification is part of the treatment plan. These include:

• Anticoagulant use

• Celiac sprue

• Diabetes*

• Diverticular disease

• Disordered eating

• Failure to thrive

• Food allergies

• GERD

• Gout

• Hyperlipidemia

• Hypertension

• Meniere’s disease

• Obesity

• Parkinson’s disease

* Diabetes Education is provided at St. John's Clinic-Smith Glynn Callaway by that department. The Nutrition Center offers MNT for patients who have diabetes. Medicare allows MNT in addition to Diabetes Education: three hours the initial year, two follow-up hours in subsequent years, with a physician referral.

Recently, the Nutrition Center sent a survey to physicians regarding awareness of our services. Ninety-two percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed to a question about the need for nutrition counseling for patients. Several written comments expressed concern over the cost of services, due to limited reimbursement, as a barrier for patients. In response to this survey and your comments, the Nutrition Center will offer group Nutrition Classes beginning this month.  A physician referral is required. The following classes will be offered:

Hyperlipidemia: Dietary approaches to lowering lipids. Topics include: reading labels, modifying recipes, eating out more healthfully, Mediterranean diet principles.

Hypertension: Weight loss and low sodium diet strategies to help lower blood pressure. Emphasis will be on the NIH program: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) which emphasizes a diet high in fruits, vegetables, low saturated fats, nuts and whole grains. Topics include shopping, cooking and eating out.

Infant Nutrition: Providing adequate formula and nutrition.Topics include stages of incorporating pureed, soft and solid foods into the diet, food allergies, limiting foods high in empty calories, sugars, high fat and high sodium foods, failure to thrive.

Feeding Children: This class will include a “nutrition check-up” self assessment, followed by a review of the Food Pyramid and principles for feeding children well. Topics will include understanding food groups and major nutrients. Guidelines and tools will be provided for easy meal planning and snacks, strategies for parents to effectively feed “picky eaters” and feeding children at risk for weight-related issues.

To order a nutrition consultation or group class, please complete the Outpatient Services Guide and fax it to 820-9315.

The Nutrition Center Staff contacts the patient to set up the appointment. Following the MNT consultation, the registered dietitian sends a written report to the referring physician.

Following a group class, a  summary report is sent to the referring physician. In the event the patient cannot be contacted after several attempts, or declines services, the referring physician is notified.