Nutritional Services

The nutrition department employs 15 full or part-time individuals who are committed to providing nutritious, balanced meals to our patients, staff, visitors, and ECCO Inc, clients.

All food service staff is required to attend regularly scheduled in-services in order to maintain and update their knowledge of the diets offered as well as current safety and sanitation issues. Many have attended and received "serve-safe" certificates on safety and sanitation practices. All dietary employees are required to have in-depth knowledge of each diet. This includes regular, soft, diabetic, full and clear liquid, heart healthy, low sodium, low protein, low purine, renal (dialysis) and dysphagia diets (modified textures).

We have a full-time Certified Dietary Manager who is responsible for supervision of employees, development of regular and selective menus, purchasing, receiving and storage of food and equipment, and staffing. This includes hiring, training, initial and ongoing education, evaluations, and scheduling of employees.

Nutrition services employees a Registered Dietitian who is responsible for the nutrition needs of inpatients. The dietitian also provides individual and group education to outpatients and assists the dietary manager in all aspect of running the dietary department.

As a part of group and individual outpatient educations, the dietitian is a member of Madison Community Hospital's diabetes self-management program team. The dietitian works closely with the nurse educators to help provide you with the information you need to successfully manage your diabetes. For more information regarding this program, call (605) 256-8681 to speak to the dietitian or (605) 256-8744 to speak to the nurse.

Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) is the latest approach to the dietary management of diabetes, heart disease, obesity and other health problems. Research proves that MNT can help delay or prevent the onset of health problems related to poor or inadequate nutrition. If you are interested in improving your nutrition, check with your local physician to see if a consultation is appropriate for you. A physician referral is necessary to obtain a nutrition evaluation.