August 1, 2018
Hospital’s dietitians battle epidemic of malnutrition - Featured in Vero News
Sebastian River Medical Center registered dietitians Brittany Robinson and Laurie Beebe just dropped a bombshell on this Mecca for retirees.
Malnutrition, they say, is far more commonplace on the Treasure Coast than most people realize – especially among hospital patients in general and seniors in particular.
“I would say 70 percent of our patient population are patients that aren’t eating because they’re sick or have decreased energy and are losing weight, but not knowing why,” says Robinson, the hospital’s clinical nutrition manager.
And the problem is not confined to the Treasure Coast.
Becker’s Hospital Review reported in May that, nationwide, up to “50 percent of all patients are malnourished upon admission to a hospital.”