SPECIAL REPORT The Nutrition Support Team Surviving and Thriving in an Era of Reform

ABSTRACT: Nutrition support teams today are being buffeted by the winds of change in the health care system. With the emphasis shifting from whether to deliver care to how to do so and to how much that care will cost, nutrition support professionals must stay attuned to their institution’s needs—and be prepared to adapt to those needs. This article reviews the types of data collec-tion necessary for teams to remain solid as well as offering tips from experts about ways to harness, and even capitalize on, the changes. Establishing a nutrition support team (NST) is one thing; surviving and thriving is an entirely different matter. While many strategies needed to win initial approval still apply once the team is formed, the changing landscape of health care deliv-ery continually poses new challenges to justify the team’s existence and keep its services strong. Added to today’s competitive environment are the political problems typical of many consulting teams-turf issues, interdepartmental conflicts, treatment disagreements. For some NSTs, these can be thorny concerns that hinder success. For virtually all NSTs, however, wrestling with cost pressures and the un-certainties of reform is taking center stage today. Now more than ever, the message is clear: Stand-ing still and hoping for the best will do nothing to ensure survival and growth. Instead, NSTs must be aggressive and innovative, and carve out their fu-ture roles. In the simplest terms, they need to think of the team as a &dquo;work in progress&dquo;-and keep adding value to what the NST provides. What’s required is not only to stay knowledgeable and proficient in nutrition support, but also to apply the principles of marketing and communications. That means having a firm grasp of the hospital’s changing needs, bringing value to the hospital by meeting those needs, and taking measures to keep that value in the spotlight