The Division of Clinical Nutrition provides evaluation and management of inpatient and ambulatory patients with nutritional disorders. Services for inpatients are provided by the Nutrition Support Service, which offers consultation and management for nutritional and metabolic complications of acute and chronic disease in the hospital. The consultation service also supervises the transition and management of patients requiring home parenteral or enteral nutritional treatment.
The Division is affiliated with The Frances Stern Nutrition Center, which was established in 1918 to provide outpatient and inpatient nutrition services for Tufts Medical Center. The Frances Stern Center was the first organization of its kind in the world and has served as a model for many other nutrition clinics in the US and abroad. The Frances Stern Center also serves as one of the oldest and most distinguished dietetic internship-master’s degree programs in the country, and is actively involved in clinical trials of diet-related interventions.
Members of the Nutrition Division comprise the medical component of the multidisciplinary Weight and Wellness Center, which provides a range of medical and surgical treatment options for overweight and obese patients. We also collaborate with Endocrinology and Gastroenterology, the Division operates specialized clinics in metabolic bone disease, lipid disorders, eating disorders and nutritional complications of gastrointestinal disorders. An additional clinic, which will emphasize preventive care by providing detailed nutritional evaluation and risk factor assessment, is planned for the near future.
Specialized procedures are available for evaluation of patients with changes in body weight and body composition and for patients under consideration for diagnosis and treatment of vitamin and trace mineral disorders. Appropriate use of dietary and vitamin supplements for patients with special nutritional requirements imposed by disease, aging and other factors is a special interest of this clinical group.
Inpatient Services
The inpatient nutrition service provides nutritional expertise for a variety of acutely ill hospitalized pediatric and adult patients.
These include patients with:
- Kidney, heart, liver and bone marrow transplants
- Gastrointestinal surgery or malabsorption
- Cardiac and cardiothoracic surgery
- Cardiac or renal disease
- Trauma
- Failure to thrive
- Eating disorders
- Prematurity
We provide:
- Nutrition screening
- Nutrition assessment
- Nutrition care planning
- Nutrition monitoring and follow-up
Registered dietitians work with the interdisciplinary team to provide comprehensive care including total parenteral nutrition (I.V. nutrition), enteral nutrition (tube feeding), transitioning to normal eating and modified diet education. A pediatric nutrition specialist at the center provides interdisciplinary seizure management using the Ketogenic Diet and is involved in inpatient diet initiation, outpatient evaluation and consultation.
Clinical dietitians also provide nutritional expertise and care to the patients in the Sinai Unit who may need longer term care and rehabilitation.
Outpatient Services
We offer a wide variety of nutrition services and specialties including individual counseling, computerized diet analysis and body fat analysis. Your first visit is comprehensive and thorough. We provide personalized care for our clients. Our nutritionists work one-on-one with you to tailor a plan to your individual nutrition needs. We can help you make healthy choices when shopping, cooking, dining at restaurants and eating with others.
Good, nourishing food gives your body the nutrients it needs to build strong bones, muscles and hair; to heal and recover from an illness or surgery; and to give you the energy you need for your busy life. The nutrition staff has considerable experience helping people discover a new way of eating that is healthy and tasty. We understand that you have to enjoy your diet in order to follow it, and we are skilled at recommending foods or cooking techniques that fit into your lifestyle and appeal to your appetite.
During your first visit to the Frances Stern Nutrition Center, your nutritionist will take an extensive dietary, medical and social history, and explore reasons why you may have had difficulties with diets. With this information, you and our nutritionist will jointly develop a nutrition care plan just for you. It may include behavioral strategies for dealing with problem areas, exercise instruction, computer analysis of your food records, recipe ideas and suggestions for cookbooks and other reading material. Whatever additional information your nutrition care plan contains, it will always include specific, achievable goals that are agreed upon by you and your nutritionist.