03/29/01 American Dietetic Association President Testifies before Senate Aging Committee --

American Dietetic Association President Testifies before Senate Aging Committee --

Dietetic Services are "Vital in Maintaining Nutritional Health and Well-being of Elderly"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, March 29, 2001

Contact:  Tom Ryan or Doris Acosta
American Dietetic Association
800/877-1600, ext. 4894 or 4822

Older Americans who live in rural areas often face special challenges in addressing nutrition-related health problems, according to Jane V. White, president of the American Dietetic Association.

"Rural America offers some unique challenges due to distance, topography and limited availability of the wide array of health-care options that are present in more urban settings," said White, who testified Thursday, March 29, at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging on "Healthy Aging in Rural America."

"Isolated individuals frequently are more susceptible to poor control of chronic diet-related disease states due to difficulty in accessing available medical and/or nutritional care." White recommended nutrition screening to identify seniors at increased risk for poor nutritional status and facilitate intervention to improve health.

Witnesses spoke on federal programs that are helping elderly people in rural areas to stay healthy and active. Topics included nutrition, housing, transportation, access to health care and work force issues.

"Seniors who routinely eat nutritious food and drink adequate amounts of fluids are less likely to have complications from chronic disease or to require care in a hospital, nursing home or other facility" said White, a Knoxville, Tenn., registered dietitian and professor in the department of family medicine at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville

White cited a number of federal screening and other nutrition services that "are vital in maintaining the nutritional health and well-being of our nation’s elderly." One pilot program, begun in January by the Nevada Division of Aging Services, provides at-risk seniors with nutrition screening and interventions. White discussed one man who had spent two weeks in the hospital with a sore on his foot that was not healing due to poorly controlled diabetes.

"Medical nutrition therapy provided by a registered dietitian along with home-delivered meals through the Meals on Wheels program helped this man to control his diabetes, resulting in the rapid healing of his foot wound. He also was able to lose ten pounds. The total cost of this nutrition intervention was $350 - far less than the cost of even one day in the hospital, not to mention the additional costs in health care and support services had the man’s foot been amputated."

In addition, seniors in rural areas often have limited access to qualified health professional capable of providing information and guidance needed to make proper nutrition a priority, White said. She mentioned programs like the National Health Service Corps, which could be used to help encourage dietitians to practice in under-served areas, and telemedicine as an alternative devise for delivering nutrition services when dietitians are not available in remote locations.

White praised Congress for passing legislation in December - which was then signed into law by President Clinton - that will for the first time provide Medicare coverage of nutrition therapy provided by a dietetics professional for seniors with diabetes and kidney disease. The legislation was sponsored in the Senate by the chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), who plans to introduce new legislation in the current Congress that would add nutrition therapy for Medicare patients with cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

"This will help ensure access to life-enhancing and life-saving treatment for those seniors who suffer these debilitating conditions," White said.

With nearly 70,000 members, the Chicago-based American Dietetic Association is the nation’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA serves the public by promoting nutrition, health and well-being.