79th PADA Annual Meeting and Exhibition
April 15-17, 2012
Holiday Inn and Conference Center, Grantville, PA
Great Speakers, Great Events, Great Fun...and Chocolate!
Sunday, April 15: Pre-AME Reimbursement Workshop
Monday, April 16 & Tuesday, April 17: Speakers to earn over 11 CEUs
For more information, visit the PADA AME website: http://www.eatrightpa.org/meetings/AME.htm
For questions contact Meg Rowe, CPDA-AME Chair (mmrowe@comcast.net)
Did you know that there is an ADA Delegate that represents CPDA?
Re-Introducing – Abigail Coleman, MS, RD, CNSC, LDN and the ADA Delegate position!
Responsibilities of a delegate:
- Interact with members to identify issues important to the membership
- Identify professional issues affecting dietetics practice and be knowledgeable about these issues
- Participate in the discussions of the House of Delegates to provide direction on member and professional issues
- Communicate member and professional issues to the HOD Leadership Team
- Contribute to trend identification and strategic planning
- Inform members about the Association activities, programs and services, and HOD initiatives
ADA members can expect delegates to:
- Provide regular updates on HOD and ADA activities
- Request input on issues being discussed by HOD
- Request identification of trends and issues affecting the profession
- Identify potential members for leadership roles with the Association
- Support the membership recruitment and retention efforts of ADA
- Assist accessing information from ADA
- Assist submitting issues or concerns about the profession or Association
ADA members can support the delegate by:
- Reviewing electronic and/or written information about ADA and HOD regularly
- Providing input to issues being discussed by HOD
- Identifying trends and issues affecting the profession
- Sharing knowledge of HOD and ADA activities with others
Contact your delegate:
If members have issues they would like the delegate to address they can contact their delegate at:
Abigail Coleman, MS, RD, CNSC, LDN – abigail.elizabeth.coleman@gmail.com
Additionally, members can submit issues directly to ADA at:
- Web address: http://www.eatright.org/issues/
- Email to Issues Management: issuesmgmt@eatright.org
Please include your ADA member number, description of the issue and what you would like to see happen. A response will be sent within 10 business days.
Local Legislators Participate in CPDA Fall Membership Meeting
On Friday, October 28, CPDA welcomed Rep. Sheryl Delozier and Elizabeth Yarnell to the Fall Membership Meeting. Sheryl Delozier serves as PA State Rep. for the 88th Legislative District and Elizabeth Yarnell serves as the Legislative Research Analyst working for Rep. Gene DiGirolamo in the 18th Legislative District. The Legislative Panel discussed methods and beneficial information when communicating with legislators, their role in the Human Services Committee, and served as an introduction for our membership to begin talking comfortably with our local Representatives. Thank you to Representative Delozier and Ms. Yarnell for participating in our CPDA meeting!
National Nutrition Month Grant
The United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of Central PA received a National Nutrition Month (NNM) grant for $80 to fund an employee healthy recipe contest. Through the contest, they distributed nutrition education information and challenged UCP staff to include at least one colorful fruit or vegetable in their recipe submissions to reflect the NNM Theme, "Eat Right with Color".
The United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of Central PA provides a variety of services for people of all ages with disabilities throughout central PA. UCP currently provides both community and center-based programs and services in 15 Central PA counties, serving more than 3,500 consumers.
----
Quick Paella - Winner for best tasting
1 5oz package yellow saffron rice
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans (drain and rinse)
2 tsp garlic powder
meat of your choice (sausage, shrimp, chicken) cooked, cut into small pieces
cooked vegetables (leftovers work well)
1. Cook the rice according to package instructions
2. Combine the diced tomatoes, black beans, and garlic into a large pot. Warm over medium heat.
3. Add the meat and cooked vegetables to the pot and heat until warmed through (about 10 minutes)
4. fold in rice and serve
Tomato and Mango Salsa - Winner for most colorful
1 cup finely chopped peeled mango
2 plum tomatoes finely diced
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 teaspoon diced jalapeno pepper (include seeds for hotter salsa)
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons chopped mint
salt and pepper to taste
1. In a bowl, toss the mango with the tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno.
2. Stir in the lime juice, sugar, rice vinegar, cilantro and mint.
3. Season the salsa with salt and pepper
4. Serve at room temperature with tortilla chips or as a topping for meat. Garnish with a mint sprig.
In the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest says “My momma always said Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get”. For me this box of chocolates is a reflection of the positions I have had in my career as a dietitian. My career change from long term care to correctional food service was about one and a half years ago has been a rewarding and challenging change. I found that almost all the extensive network of peers I had built over many years had no idea that dietitians even worked in corrections, let alone know what we do on a daily basis. I also found that a broad base of skills is utilized regularly and some of those skills were rusty.
Thanks to CPDA I received an educational scholarship to attend the Association of Correctional Food Service Affiliates (ACFSA) Conference. My goal was to begin building a new peer network and make sure I have the broad skills to be successful as the Corporate Dietitian for Community Education Centers headquartered in West Caldwell, NJ. I am responsible for medical nutrition therapy for 17,500 inmates in 28 facilities in 9 states and am part of the corporate food service team with three regional food service directors that provides education to staff and inmates. Each facility has a food service manager, but I’m the only dietitian.
This four day conference had participants from federal prisons, state department of corrections, county jails, private organizations, and food service management companies with both food service and dietitians were present. Educational sessions and discussions included:
- simplifying diets since there isn’t a dietitian in each facility
- use of rice and soymilk that is Kosher, lactose free and Halal
- allergy diets
- use of nutritionally dense formulated products
- training for inmate staff as part of reentry skills in the areas of ServSafe and equipment refurbishing
- religious diets
- gangs
On the management side of the operation it was noted that portion size accuracy has a huge impact on food cost. What makes this even more challenging is raw food cost averages less than $2.00 per day per inmate. If accurate portions can reduce the cost of a meal by $0.01 at each meal per inmate and you have 1,000 inmates, there is a savings of $30 per day or $10,950 per year! When you consider there are 51,000 inmates in state correctional facilities in PA, that $0.01 savings per meal per inmate could save $558,450 per year state wide because portions were accurate.
On the clinical side, dietitians may encounter many medical restricted diet concerns. These may include working with juveniles, pregnant females, HIV, cancer, post cardiac and gastric by-pass surgery, wired jaws, chewing problems, diabetic, cardiac, dialysis, mental health, traches and vents, as well as the needs for aging inmates and those in community reentry programs.
On the education side, Virginia Department of Corrections shared information about their inmate education initiatives. With the goal to break the cycle of recidivism and become contributors to society, they plan to have over 1,200 inmates ServSafe certified by the end of 2011. Some inmates are also learning additional food service skills with the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation’s Manage-First Program and are learning hands-on mechanical skills in an equipment refurbishing program.
Correctional food service is the best kept secret when it comes to practice areas for a dietitian. You can potentially have a mix of medical nutrition therapy, food service management, and education in your position. There is a dietitians group within ACFSA and a corrections sub-group in the Dietitians in Health Care Communities (DHCC) Dietetic Practice Group. If you are interested in learning more about correctional food service, please contact me at Linda.Mills@cecintl.com.
Please see the following letter from PADA Licensure Committee explaining some of the new efforts that are taking place to pursue expansion of our current licensure title act.
Practice Act Introductory Letter
Dear PADA member,
The Pennsylvania Dietetic Association Board of Directors, with the interest and future of our
members and profession as well as the public we serve in mind, has decided to begin efforts
to pursue expansion of our current licensure title act to a practice protection act. To assist us
in this matter, the ADA Washington Office of Government Affairs has provided us with expert
knowledge and insight towards development of a strategy to examine the steps necessary to
proceed with this expanded licensure act. In addition, the office will assist in the identification
and implementation of an action plan towards licensure expansion as well as with the
oversight of the practice act itself. Grassroots support of and contributions towards the issue
is vital to our success in this matter.
In Pennsylvania RDs have been licensed for the past 10 years, and currently our licensure is
limited to a title act which only provides legal protection against the inappropriate use of the
title “licensed dietitian-nutritionist” (LDN). As such, our current act does not define or protect
our scope of practice (the specific care and services provided); therefore, as long as an
individual does not portray themselves as an LDN they can practice nutrition care. Licensure
that defines practice could affect future healthcare legislation in the state to determine who is
allowed to be hired for specific positions and reimbursed for services at health care facilities,
ambulatory care centers or in private consulting. A defined scope of practice as part of our
licensure act is necessary to ensure that nutrition care is being provided by qualified nutrition
professionals.
Licensure, specifically a practice act, is necessary to accurately convey the specialized
knowledge, background, and skills of registered dietitians in their role as health professionals.
It seeks to protect the public by setting standards (training and experience) for individuals to
provide safe, reliable nutrition care so that facilities who hire, individuals who seek nutrition
therapies, and physician who refer patients can be confident they are working with
professionals recognized to provide specific care and services.
In the upcoming months the PADA Board of Directors will be providing education to our
members regarding our plan and progress towards obtaining a license that protects our
practice of nutrition and dietetics. We will be asking for feedback and assistance from our
members regarding this important and imminent issue of licensure of nutrition professionals in
Pennsylvania. Seeking a practice protection act is a multiyear process that requires efforts
from members and the board as well as financial support.
We look forward to working with our members in expansion of our licensure act as we begin to
roll out our scope of practice licensure plan. Please send any questions to
vmwilliams15@yahoo.com and look for more information and opportunities for involvement in
the future.
Sincerely,
PADA Licensure Committee
