Health Plans Shaped to Your Shape
The one-size-fits-all approach is fine for some things – coffee mugs, disposable pens, scrunchies. But because each person is different, their nutritional needs are different, too. This is why SFCHC offers one-on-one nutrition consultations through our ¡Healthy Hoy! program.
Could a One-on-One Consultation Help You?
Patients at SFCHC are referred for nutrition consultations by their primary care provider. The provider may do this because the patient is overweight, diabetic, or has a chronic condition that could be helped by better nutrition. The advantage here is that unlike our ¡Healthy Hoy! education classes, this service is also available to pediatric patients.
Referred patients meet with a nutritionist or registered dietician (RD). Together they complete a thorough assessment of areas where you need help. This assessment makes note of dozens of factors that affect a person’s nutritional needs, including:
Age
Family medical history
Past hospitalizations
If they smoke or drink alcohol, and how often
For women, pregnancy history and whether they’ve reached menopause
Medications and supplements
But these consultations go a step further (would you expect SFCHC to do anything different?). The provider asks questions to determine what’s getting in the way of your nutrition. Have you ever faced one of these barriers and felt that good nutrition wasn’t possible?
You have dietary restrictions, like food allergies.
Food labels are too small for you to read or in a language you don’t understand.
Nutrition classes are taught in a way that’s different from how you learn best. (For example, through lots of reading homework when you learn better by listening.)
You get uncomfortable talking with a nutritionist.
There isn’t time in your schedule for exercise, you don’t have a safe place to do it, or an old injury makes exercise painful.
You don’t have people you can lean on for emotional support. Attempts at good nutrition usually fail when life gets too stressful.
As you can see, no two patients’ assessments will be the same. SFCHC works to find solutions that are specific to you, the individual.
Action That Fits You
It’s a given that custom-tailored clothing will make you look your best, and a nutritional plan is no different. You and the provider will create nutrition, exercise and self-care plans designed to get the best results out of your life. (Because if the demands on your time make a certain habit impossible, it’ll never happen anyway.) Do you have trouble remembering to take your medication? Your provider will arrange reminders. Do you keep forgetting to check your blood sugar? We’ll set you up with a glucose monitor. Is eating healthy difficult because food insecurity makes it hard to eat at all? SFCHC can help you find a food pantry that’s convenient for you.
Each patient also receives material from the American Diabetes Association and USDA MyPlate. Everything is easy to understand with clear illustrations and is available in English and Spanish. The nutritionist will meet with you monthly to answer questions, provide solutions where you’re struggling, and cheer you on!
Results That Inspire Patients and Providers
The individualized approach works, and SFCHC has the healthy patients to prove it. Rita Jauregui, the clinic’s Health Education Manager, remembers a diabetic patient who lowered his A1C from 14 to under 10. “The provider was very impressed,” she says, “because they couldn’t believe that in just three months this patient had so tremendously improved his A1C.” One-on-one nutrition consultations are just another way SFCHC sees each patient and provides the whole-person care they need.
