• A Master’s degree (e.g., MA, MS, MBA, MSN, MSW) or equivalent (e.g., CPA, PE, etc.) or a Bachelors degree with a minimum of 5 years is required.
• Clinical Nutrition experience Dietetics, Foods & Nutrition, Nutritional Science or other related field is required.
• Registered Dietitian with the CDR, licensed in the State of Texas within one year of employment is required. Become certified with the Nat’l Board for Nutrition Certification of either the ASPEN, ADA, or ACN within two years of employment. Active member of ADA.

• Fulfills continuing education and/or certification requirements to maintain required qualifications.
• Participates regularly and willingly in performance improvement activities.
• Plans and creates content for staff meetings in a timely manner.
• Actively participates in collaborative clinical nutrition research.

A registered dietitian can translate complicated medical jargon into an understandable nutrition plan. RDs understand how kidneys work and how kidney disease relates to the bones, organs and anemia. They can also explain why you need to limit certain foods. When planning your new meal plan, the RD will include a patient’s favorite foods, including any ethnic foods.

The RD is also trained to fit a new meal plan to a patient’s schedule, whether it includes working, traveling, chauffeuring children to school activities or running with energetic toddlers. With education, the renal meal plan can fit into any schedule and the RD is the person to help you do this.

If there has been a diagnosis of CKD but the patient is not yet on dialysis, it is important to find a renal dietitian who can help with a new meal plan. Medicare will pay 80 percent of the cost of Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) with an RD trained to work with the renal diet. The nephrologist often works closely with RDs and can make a referral or can provide names of MNT-certified dietitians.

Local board certified renal dietitians may be located at www.cdrnet.org. Go to “Fellow and Specialty Online Directories Available,” then “Specialist Locator Search.” Renal patients not yet on Medicare, may be able to contact the outpatient dietitian at a local hospital. They are usually able to provide nutrition counseling for people with CKD.

Nutrition is an important part of the medical plan and following a complicated new meal plan does not happen by chance. Consulting an RD may be the most important thing a patient will do to help them feel better and help regain strength.  It can also make a difference in when they start dialysis.

Skilled nursing homes and skilled nursing care facilities, or SNFs (pronounced “sniffs”), are health care facilities that are licensed and inspected by the State Department of Health Services. They offer both short and long-term care options for those with temporary or permanent health problems too complex or serious for home care or an assisted living setting.

Skilled nursing care facilities are most appropriate for the very sickest of patients. In addition to medical care by licensed health care providers, patients in skilled nursing care facilities can receive almost any kind of rehabilitative therapy. Services will vary in skilled nursing care facilities.

Rather recent onset or somewhat rapid change. The term “subacute” is used in contrast to acute which indicates very sudden onset or rapid change and chronic which indicates indefinite duration or virtually no change. A chronic condition is one lasting 3 months or more, by the definition of the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. In ancient Greece, the “father of medicine” Hippocrates distinguished diseases that were acute (abrupt, sharp and brief) from those that were chronic. This is still a very useful distinction. Subacute has been coined to designate the mid-ground between acute and chronic.

The subacute rehabilitation program offers an expanded level of service to patients in need of short-term rehabilitation care before returning home. The flexibility of the program in caring for patients at different stages of the rehabilitation process makes it an ideal option for individuals either beginning or continuing their rehabilitation treatment.

Following a thorough evaluation by a team of physicians, nurses, dietitians and therapists, a treatment plan will be customized to meet a patient’s needs and goals. Most individuals require a combination of physical therapy, occupational therapy, medical nutrition therapy, speech/swallowing therapy and skilled nursing care. Recreation therapy professionals incorporate a wide selection of leisure activities into the treatment plan, providing an integral link to resuming life in the community.

The treatment team is committed to restoring maximum functioning in the shortest period of time. Treatment goals may include walking, climbing stairs independently, managing daily routines, such as bathing and dressing, transfer techniques, such as getting in and out of bed, and regaining strength and endurance.

In the acute-care setting, factors contributing to an increase in the demand for medical nutrition therapy include the aging of the population, the higher acuity level of hospitalized patients, and the coexistence of malnutrition with chronic diseases. Adequate nutrition is essential to reduce morbidity and mortality from acute and chronic disease. Well-nourished persons are more resistant to disease and are better able to tolerate other therapy and to recover from acute illness, surgical interventions, and trauma. Nutrition plays a direct role in the recovery of a patient from disease or the treatment associated with the disease.