Heather Keller RD PhD FDC FCAHS is the Schlegel Research Chair in Nutrition & Aging at the University of Waterloo. She is an internationally recognized expert in geriatric nutrition, assessment, and treatment. Research areas focus on nutrition risk and malnutrition identification and treatment across care sectors; improving nutrition care processes and implementing screening and other best practices; supporting food intake of diverse groups living in the community, including those living with dementia; and improving hospital and residential food and promoting food intake and the mealtime experience in these settings. Professor Keller has led several national research and knowledge translation projects, including the landmark Nutrition Care in Canadian Hospitals, More-2-Eat and Making the Most of Mealtimes in Long Term Care studies. Professor Keller has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles and translates much of this evidence into practice with tools and resources. As a founding member and past chair/co-chair (2009-2018) of the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force, she is involved in translating research into practice and advocating for improvements in nutrition care. She is currently the co-chair of the primary care working group for CMTF and involved in several national and international expert groups advancing the prevention, detection and treatment of malnutrition.
This session will introduce the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force pathways for screening for malnutrition in the community, the primary care malnutrition toolkit developed by the Primary Care working group and Primary Care Dietitians Association, and the Canada-wide community of practice. An example of how the pathway was implemented in Red Deer, Alberta will be presented with perspectives from community partners, patient advisors, clinicians and researchers.
Learning objectives:
* Increased awareness of the CMTF primary care malnutrition pathways and tools to support implementation
* Understand the impact of screening for nutrition risk in older adults in the community setting
* Increase awareness around nutrition risk in the community
*Appreciate the value of community partnership at the local level and nationally
*Gain awareness of the importance of mentorship through a community of practice