Wellness Department and Nutrition Services
Skiff Medical Center offers a wide range of nutrition and wellness services to help you lead a healthy lifestyle. From education programs and support groups to fully cooked meals, we offer healthy solutions for those managing disease to those simply looking for a more healthy way to live.
Consultant dietitian services
At Skiff Medical Center, we want everyone in our community to have access to a healthy diet. We offer consultant dietitian services crafted for a wide variety of facilities.
Contact person: Peg Ehler, RD, LD, (641) 791-4340
A consultant dietitian:
- aids facilities in serving well balanced menus
- ensure that state and federal regulations are met
- assess nutritional needs of their clients
- provide nutritional education to clients, families and staff
Wellness/nutrition education
Contact person: Jenny Thompson, RD, LD, (641) 791-4303
One-on-one consultation
Skiff Medical Center's Weight Management Program consists of an initial consultation and assessment by a registered, licensed dietitian. Recommendations and guidelines are provided based on your individual needs along with a binder of nutrition and exercise information. We can help you develop a plan to manage high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, and assist you with weight loss. A doctor's referral is not required to participate in the program.
The cost of the initial visit is $52. After attending the initial visit you have the option of enrolling for 12 follow-up visits (which may be used weekly or bi-weekly) or monthly visits. The appointments involve developing and reviewing goals and are approximately 15 minutes in length. The cost of the 12 weekly or bi-weekly visits is $52. Six monthly visits are available at no charge after your initial consultation. Some insurance plans offer coverage for our services. Check with your insurance company to determine your benefits.
This program does not prescribe special food or appetite suppressants. We encourage healthy eating and an active lifestyle to achieve weight loss for life. Let's Get Cooking 2nd Edition, a cookbook developed by our dietitians, is available for you to purchase to assist in planning a low-fat, healthy eating routine.
Our monthly newsletter, The Light Side, also features healthy recipes, informative articles about nutrition topics, and practical cooking advice. Check out these recent editions of The Light Side.
Nutrition makeover
Is your diet the pits? Do you feel it needs improvement? Let us help you determine where you stand, nutritionally. Submit a five-day diet history, including one weekend. Tell us everything! Be sure to include specific amounts, such as a half-cup of green beans and the specific type of food, such as 8 oz. of skim milk. Don`t forget to let us know the beverages you drink, such as diet or regular pop and juices. We also need to know your sex, current weight and height. These details are very important to develop accurate results. We will analyze your diet and provide you with a complete printout. We will indicate deficiencies, excesses and provide suggestions on how to improve your diet. Along with this, a variety of nutrition information will be provided, such as a guide to good eating, a fat and calorie guide, healthy recipes and a restaurant guide.
Along with the diet history, provide us with your typical exercise routine. We will provide you with detailed information pertaining to your exercise and make suggestions on how to improve it.
As a part of the nutrition makeover, a free recipe analysis is available.
Submit your favorite recipe and we will analyze it. The nutritional analysis will provide you with information on calories, fat, carbohydrates, sodium, and fiber along with nearly 40 other components based on the number of servings the recipe makes. Next, we will provide suggestions on how to alter the recipe to make it healthier.
This service is available to you at the cost of $40. Please send payment along with your five-day diet history to:
Skiff Medical Center
Wellness Department
204 N. 4th Ave. E.
Newton, IA 50208
Results will be sent to you in approximately one week.
Body composition
Skiff Medical Center utilizes the latest technology to measure body composition, which provides information on body fat, fat free mass and total body water. The results are included in a six-page printout that offers information on calorie needs, exercise and nutrition guidelines. Cost of this test is $10. Appointment required. Please call (641) 791-4303 to schedule your time.
"Recipes for Living"
This cookbook from Skiff Medical Center contains recipes developed, tested and approved by registered, licensed dietitians. All recipes are reduced in calories and fat. Reduced-sodium and reduced-carbohydrate recipes are also included.
- More than 500 tasty, low-fat recipes
- Nutritional analysis includes calorie, fat, carbohydrate and sodium content
- Quick and easy preparation with ingredients available at local grocery stores
Cost of the cookbook is $10, plus $2.50 shipping and handling. You may also purchase a cookbook in the cafeteria, cardiac rehab or from any of the Skiff Medical Center dietitians.
To order yours today, send your name, address and payment to:
Skiff Medical Center
Wellness Department
204 N. 4th Ave. E.
Newton, IA 50208
Cooking classes
Our classes are a fun, tasty, learning experience led by two registered, licensed dietitians. The cooking classes feature healthy, seasonal foods along with low-fat cooking techniques and methods. Bring your appetite, as lots of great samples and recipes will be provided. The classes are offered at Skiff Medical Center in the inservice room. Be sure to sign up for the class in advance, as space is limited. For more information contact the Wellness Department at (641) 791-4303.
Nutrition Services
Contact person: Deb Nilles, RD, LD, (641) 791-4341
Quick Cuisine
Skiff Medical Center has developed a meal service that is quick and healthy for the entire community! Quick Cuisine provides delicious, made-fresh meals, with convenient availability to the Newton community. An entree will serve a family of four and may be heated in the microwave or oven. Quick Cuisine was designed by dietitians Deb Niles and Jenny Thompson to help take the stress out of meal planning and preparation during busy times and provide a healthier alternative to fast food.
Compared to eating out, Quick Cuisine is a less expensive and more nutritious way to feed your family. A meal at a typical fast food restaurant will cost a family of four about $13; the Quick Cuisine entrée costs $8. Meals eaten out are 20-30 percent lower in fiber, calcium and iron. And when dining out, a person will consume approximately 17 percent more calories and 30 percent more fat as compared to if they ate at home. Quick Cuisine will provide a more balanced, lower fat option that the entire family will enjoy.
Quick Cuisine entrees can be purchased in the Skiff Cafeteria anytime before 7 p.m. or you can place an order by calling the Nutrition Services Department at (641) 791-4341.
Cafeteria
The Skiff Medical Center Cafeteria is open to the community from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Continental breakfast is served 6-10:30 a.m., lunch is served from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and dinner is served from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Gourmet coffee drinks, ice cream and specialty sandwiches and salads are available from our gourmet coffee bar from 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Inpatient care
Contact person Joan Munoz, RD, LD, (641) 791-4836
Every patient admitted to Skiff receives a nutritional assessment from a registered dietitian to determine patients at risk for nutritional deficiencies. A dietitian will also visit patients requiring special diets during the hospital stay and help patients understand dietary restrictions for home.
Corporate wellness
Contact person Jenny Mann, (641) 787-3144
Skiff Medical Center in collaboration with Jasper County Public Health, Capstone Behavioral Healthcare, Newton YMCA, and the local board of health was awarded a Harkin Wellness grant through May 2007. The grant served 21 Jasper County companies with employee health screens, follow-up educational courses and the identification to specific health needs of their employees. Through this grant, Jasper County LIFE for employers was developed. The vision of Jasper County LIFE is to help build a framework of wellness programs for employers in Jasper County that will help create a healthier community to live and work in. Skiff Medical Center hopes to sustain and expand from this grant with offering wellness programs to all of the businesses in Jasper County in the near future!
