Nutrition Services
Nutrition plays an important role in health, healing and living a well-balanced life. In fact, positive changes in diet and lifestyle may help save lives.
Professional Nutrition Guidance
Whether you need support for special dietary situations or you simply want to eat in a more healthful way, you can benefit from the professional guidance of expert dietitians and nutrition specialists at Avera facilities near you throughout the Upper Midwest. Take advantage of Avera’s registered dietitians (RDs) and/or licensed nutritionists for:
- Complete nutrition assessments
- One-on-one personal nutrition counseling
- Continual nutrition guidance for you and your family that can encompass:
- Medical nutrition therapy for people in or out of the hospital
- Personalized dietary instruction and meal planning for diabetic, gluten-free, low-fat, low-sodium and low-cholesterol diets
- Educational materials for health situations that require dietary support, such as blood pressure control, cholesterol reduction, weight loss and weight management, living well with heart disease, sports participation, raising well-nourished children, cancer, diabetes or pregnancy
- Programs designed to help individuals establish and maintain lifelong healthy nutrition habits, increase physical activity and support disease prevention and management
- Monitoring of your nutrition status and care after feeding tube placement
Comprehensive Nutrition Services
Discover how you can find delight in the food you eat, even when you deal with serious health conditions such as:
Get follow-up care and support for ongoing nutrition needs, especially if you receive nutrients through a feeding tube or IV.
Great Food Service in the Hospital and the Community
During a hospital stay, good food and nutrition contribute to your healing process. Choose Avera facilities across the Upper Midwest to benefit from the RDs and nutrition specialists who deliver a wide range of food-related services for you, your loved ones, and our local employees and communities. Enjoy:
- Balanced, tasty, home-cooked meals and snacks, which follow your dietary allowances and may be available through a restaurant-style or room service menu
- Celebratory meal for new moms and dads
- Guest trays at a nominal fee for family members and visitors to dine in-room with a loved one during the hospital stay
- Snacks and vending service for families waiting while loved ones undergo procedures or hospital stays
In addition, your local Avera facility may serve as the designated provider of top-quality food service for residents of assisted living, independent living or retirement communities and care centers. Your community also can rely on us to prepare convenient, nutritious meals—such as Meals-on-Wheels or Heat-and-Eat—to help those cooking for one who live in smaller cities and rural locations.
Cancer-Related Nutrition Support
Cancer and cancer treatments change the way your body uses food. As you deal with the condition, getting the proper nutrients helps you maintain your body weight and strength, keep your tissues healthy, and avoid or fight infection.
Because nutrition guidelines for cancer care often differ greatly from typical healthy eating habits, you’ll want to work with the registered dietitians at Avera, who collaborate with your care team and our integrative medicine specialists to address your needs as a whole person.
You’ll receive healthy meal options tailored to your individual cancer and treatment plan. And you benefit from nutritional recommendations designed to:
- Boost immunity and improve energy during cancer treatment
- Allow participation in healthy exercise and activity
- Help you make food choices to better manage symptoms, improve your body’s ability to tolerate side effects, enhance health during and after treatment, and speed recovery
- Encourage healing from cancer treatment side effects that may last eight to 12 months
- Address issues such as weight loss or gain, changes in appetite and taste/smell, nausea/vomiting, constipation or diarrhea
If you receive a cancer diagnosis, you may be able to participate in complimentary cancer-related nutrition services at many Avera locations provided through generous contributions from Avera Foundations.
