REGISTRATION CLOSED

Title of Event/announcement: CMDA presents “Current Practices in Diagnosis and Treatment of Malnutrition in an Acute Care Hospital in Massachusetts".

Date: Wednesday, Oct 27th, 2021

Speaker: Prasanna Navarasam, MS, RD, LDN, CNSD. Prasanna is a Registered Dietitian and a Certified Nutrition Support Specialist, currently working for Morrison Healthcare at Metrowest Medical Center in Framingham. She recently completed the prestigious DNS Advanced Practice Residency in nutrition support at the Cleveland Clinic. An expert at nutrition support, Prasanna works closely with the medical and surgical teams at MWMC, guiding nutrition-based care of ICU patients daily. She has several years of diverse professional experience spanning across acute care, long term sub-acute care, clinical nutrition management and diabetes management. She is particularly passionate about nutrition in critical care settings and the accurate diagnosis and documentation of malnutrition. Prasanna is also passionate about diversity initiatives and giving back to the community.

Description: This topic is a synopsis of Prasanna's poster presentation (by the same name) at the ASPEN Nutrition Science and Practice Conference, 2021. Malnutrition in hospitalized patients can adversely affect patient outcomes and lead to higher costs of care. Yet malnutrition may go undiagnosed or untreated because of inconsistent identification and assessment practices. The talk gives you an insight into current practices and existing or perceived barriers in identifying and documenting malnutrition among healthcare providers in a local Massachusetts hospital. It will help dietitians build better strategies and communication tools to enhance diagnosis, treatment, and documentation of malnutrition. It would also help dietitians communicate to physicians some of the misguided notions surrounding this topic and how recovery may take much more aggressive interventions than originally believed.

Learning Objectives 1. The learner will be able to identify existing or perceived barriers noted among healthcare providers, in identifying and documenting malnutrition in hospitalized patients 2. The learner will be able to select strategies and tools that can help enhance diagnosis, documentation, and treatment of malnutrition. 3. The learner will be able to estimate needs and implement aggressive intervention that may be required during the recovery phase, post hospitalization.

Host of the event: Central Mass Dietetic Association

Format: Online zoom, a link will be sent to your email address to join the webinar

Time: 6:00-7:30 pm, including Q and A.

RSVP Contact: ioanasantau2005@gmail.com •

Cost: Registration and fee:

o RD (AND/ MAND member): $20; late fee: $25

o RD (AND/MAND non-member): $25; late fee: $30

o Student (AND/MAND member): $ 15: late fee: $20

o Student (AND/MAND non-member): $20: late fee: $25

RSVP deadline: October 22nd, 2021 (late fee will apply after this date and please note registrations will not be accepted after October 24th, 2021)

Contact person: ioanasantau2005@gmail.com