About the Program

Nutrition and Food Service (N&FS), under the direction of a registered dietitian, is composed of two major program areas: medical nutrition therapy and administrative food production and food service.  The mission of N&FS is to meet the total nutritional needs of veterans through committed and caring employees.  The vision of N&FS is to be the recognized leaders in the provision of patient meal service and medical nutrition therapy fostered through empowered employees committed to growth and development.

Health Services Offered

Administrative Food Production & Food Service

The scope of services offered by the Administrative Food Production & Food Service section includes providing a comprehensive medical nutrition therapy program for both inpatients, and outpatients in all treatment modalities.  Availability of food service staff is 15 hours each day, from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week.  Diet transactions are transmitted to the diet communication office through the medical center computer program.  Meal trays for hospital and nursing home care unit patients are assembled in the medical center tray service unit and are delivered to patients three times a day.  Supplemental feedings for patients are delivered to the patient refrigerators daily.  Cafeteria-style meal service is provided to residents of the domiciliary. 

Medical Nutrition Therapy

The clinical nutrition staff provides medical nutrition therapy for the hospital, nursing home, ambulatory care, primary care, and the domiciliary residents.  Medical clinics, which rely heavily upon medical nutrition therapy, include diabetes, oncology, coumadin, cholesterol class, joint move, Lipid, and outpatient tube feeding.  Medical nutrition education is provided in both individual and group settings.  Nutrition status of inpatients is conducted by nursing within eight hours of admission through the completion of the nutrition risk triggers located on the initial nursing assessment.  Any patient who has a high-risk nutrition trigger is then referred to a dietitian who completes a comprehensive nutrition assessment within 48 hours.  Clinical nutrition coverage is provided throughout the week, on Saturdays, and on Monday/Friday holidays.  Comprehensive nutrition assessments, at a minimum, are completed on patients with one or more of the following criteria: nutrition status level IV, receiving enteral or parenteral nutrition therapy, those to be evaluated by the nutrition support team and/or for those deemed necessary based upon the dietitian's clinical judgment.

Our Staff

The service is staffed with part-time and full-time employees.  There are registered dietitians (one being a certified diabetes educator), food service supervisors, cook foreman, and a food production supervisor.  Registered dietitians (RD) are graduates of an American Dietetic Association (ADA) accredited bachelor's or master's degree program meeting ADA's academic requirements plus a supervised practical experience.  Dietitians must also have completed an approved pre-professional practice program or an accredited dietetic internship, and passed the national ADA registration examination for dietitians and licensed dietitian/nutritionalists by the state of Tennessee.  Dietetic technicians are graduates from an ADA-approved dietetic technician program with an earned associate degree.

Patient Satisfaction Surveys

Patient satisfaction surveys are conducted quarterly.  Nutrition and Food Service values the comments, concerns and questions of our veterans.  If you have questions or concerns, please contact (423) 926-1171, extension 2428.