Nutrition

Nemours Children’s clinic in Orlando employs 6 Registered Dietitians. All are licensed in the State of Florida and hold their registry through the Commission on Dietetic registration and American Dietetic Association. In addition, each is masters or bachelor’s prepared and has completed a dietetic internship. This staff offers support to many of the divisions in Orlando: Gastroenterology, Hematology/Oncology, Endocrinology, Pediatric Obesity, Nephrology, Pulmonology and Genetics. The Registered Dietitians work in close conjunction with the physicians and other clinical providers to ensure comprehensive care. So many of the illness and diseases that we treat have interrelated dependencies with the child’s overall nutritional status.

In the Gastroenterology department the Registered Dietitian is consulted for all of the enteral and paraenteral hyperalimentation, feeding problems, failure to thrive, transplant, inflammatory bowel diseases, celiac disease, malnutrition, weight loss, and overweight.

In the Pulmonology department the Registered Dietitian plays a crucial role in the Cystic Fibrosis Center and is responsible for the nutritional management of these complex patients.

In the Hematology/Oncology department the Registered Dietitian is conferred with for children on chemotherapy, which often leads to feeding issues and can result in failure to thrive and overweight. Blood disorders, most specifically iron deficiencies are dependent upon dietary consultations.

The Nephrology department sees a variety of patient diagnoses that are dependent on the services of the Registered Dietitian. The Registered Dietitian provides services for the renal disease, dialysis, hypertension and transplant patients.

In the Genetics department the Registered Dietitian is a metabolic dietitian and specializes in the very complex management of inborn errors of metabolism.

The Endocrinology department is a certified education program by the American Diabetes Association. A significant part of the requirement for this recognition is to have a Registered Dietitian to educate the patients upon initial diagnosis and as an ongoing part of their care. Specialized diabetic education classes are developed and taught by the dietitian. Additionally the Registered Dietitian that services this area covers patients who have hyperlipidemia and overweight.

Lastly the epidemic of pediatric obesity is an issue that is addressed by all of the departments listed above in addition to a relatively new department that is dedicated to pediatric obesity. The dietitian is a vital member of this multidisciplinary team. The primary goal is to teach, educate and reinforce healthy lifestyle and food choices.