Prescriptions for Healthier Eating Help People Manage Chronic Conditions

Grady Health System, a safety net hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, uses an in-house fresh food market as a hub for its Food Prescription program. During clinic visits, staff screen patients for food insecurity and refer eligible patients to the program, where dietitians work alongside patients in a multi-stage, year-long curriculum that includes free healthy food boxes, cooking classes, nutrition counseling, and checkups with providers. All of these components are scheduled and documented in Epic to simplify management and track results. To date, the program has enrolled more than 1,000 patients, held nearly 350 cooking classes, and distributed more than 181,000 pounds of food. Graduates of the program report an increase in the number of days they feel well each month. Those who begin the program with A1C levels over 9% have an average reduction of 2.3 points.

How They Did It:

• Referred patients to a year-long program that fosters healthier eating habits
• Expanded access to healthy food with a market, counseling, classes, and a food pharmacy
• Partnered with food banks to distribute healthy food at neighborhood health centers
• Screened patients for food insecurity during outpatient visits
• Engaged volunteers to sort and distribute food

Read the full article on EpicShare.