Our guest blogger this week is dietitian Elaine Watkins from Intermountain Healthcare – recipient of one of the two National Nutrition Month (NNM) grants awarded by the Utah Nutrition Council!
We had fabulous NNM celebrations at Intermountain facilities in the Salt Lake valley! We were so grateful for grant money to help make it possible. NNM table tents were set up on every table in the cafeterias of our 5 hospitals to spread the word about Getting our Plates in Shape. We also advertised with larger posters in strategic locations.
Our healthy recipe contest was a big success. There was great participation with winning recipes Wild Salmon Salad and Whole wheat pizza with broccoli rabe and Turkey Sausage. We prepared the pizza recipe at Alta View Hospital, and there was a line out the door of the cafeteria to try it!
Chef Frank Krause held cooking demos at Intermountain Medical Center to give us ideas for using more veggies and whole grains. All the hospital administrators attended one of the demos.
We also hosted nutrition fairs near the cafeterias of each hospital. We had displays to promote Choose My Plate, variety in whole grains/fruits/veggies, avoiding nutrition myths, healthy portion sizes, and RDs as the nutrition professionals. Sunkist donated Cara Cara oranges to give away to our visitors. We also had our “fat suit” on display so people could see what 20 extra lbs feels like.
Dietitians Bonnie Morris, Melissa Black, and Elaine Watkins.
Dietitian Emily Vaterlaus
Each week in March we published an article in our newsletter, Stories, to advertise for events, share info/pics about RDs and dietetic technicians, and basic nutrition tips. With all of our efforts, we hope we spread the word about National Nutrition Month to the 6000+ employees!
Lastly, we had a dinner to honor all the dietitians in the region. We celebrated with cheese and chocolate fondue (and some lean protein, fruit, and vegetables too!) Thank you to all our RDs for making a difference in our workplace!
Thank you again, it was a great success!
Do you have an employee newsletter where you can share nutrition information and healthy eating tips? Let us know how you reach out to employees as well as patients in the comments!
