Hartford Business Journal

HCH.6 Hartford Business Journal • December 8, 2014 www.HartfordBusiness.com HealtH Care Heroes 2014 Dalidowitz works to make CCMC a healthier hospital By Kathryn M. Roy Special to the Hartford Business Journal W hen Connecticut Children's Medical Center regis- tered dietician Claire Dalidowitz tried to eliminate soda from the hospital cafeteria recently to make the facility a healthier environment for employees, patients and their families, she was met with some resistance. "Sugar sweetened beverages are not particularly healthy for anybody," said Dalidowitz. "We decided we were going to take those out of the hospital, but that went over very badly. We regrouped and decided just to change the way we dis- played soda, and to promote water and sugar free beverages." By placing soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages at the bottom of refrigerated coolers, sales of those beverages at CCMC decreased by eight percent. "We're moving in that direction [of eliminating soda in the hospital], but we're also educating," said Dalidowitz, a Kensing- ton resident. "If people don't understand the impact of soda, why would you try to decrease it?" Dalidowitz, who manages the hospital's clinical nutri- tion department, came to CCMC shortly after the hospital opened 18 years ago. Excited by the prospect of developing the department from the ground up, she has seen immense growth in the area of children's nutrition. "Over the years our team has expanded as physicians realize this is a specialty for children," Dalidowitz said. "There were about six people on my team when I started, and we have about 30 now." Under Dalidowitz's leadership, Connecticut Children's was selected as one of 25 children's hospitals to participate in the national Children's Hospital of America initiative to improve and model a healthy environment. "The whole intent was, you can't talk about wellness in chil- dren if you don't look at the environment where they live and go to school, and your children's hospital can be a model for a healthy environment," she said. "What we do here matters, in terms of what's in the environment for our children, our parents and our employees." Dalidowitz and her team came up with a brand, Dino-mite Lifestyles, with a child-friendly dinosaur logo. As part of this initiative, the hospital is developing Dino-bite lunches — low calorie, low fat and low salt meals. The "to-go" meals will be cleverly packaged in a dinosaur themed take-out container. Dalidowitz and her staff have also been examining the meals served to patients during their stays. "We looked at our inpatient menu, and we realized it was fairly high-fat, high-sodium and high-sugar," she said. "Everyone from our medical residents to our families has been involved in the menu. We'll have taste tests so everyone can try it out. We're working off a template to make sure our menus reflect what we're trying to do across the board." Dalidowitz said menu changes in the cafeteria will be made based on feedback they receive on the revamped meals served to patients. Already, those who eat in the cafeteria are seeing small chang- es. The hospital recently added colored tongs to the salad bar. "We coordinated our tongs with what we teach in our weight management program," Dalidowitz said. "The green tongs are called 'Go' — these are low calorie foods. Yellow means you can have a little, but not too much. Red is 'Woah' — they are high in calories and fat." In addition to nutritional changes, Dalidowitz said the hospital is raising awareness about becoming more active as part of a healthy lifestyle. As part of the Dino-mite Lifestyles campaign, staff mapped out a walkway on the first and sec- ond floors of the hospital, so employees and families can walk a mile without leaving the building. Dalidowitz said despite being met with resistance by some folks, she is making gradual changes that she knows will have an impact. She still hopes to eliminate soda altogether, eventually. "I realize I have to go slowly," she said. "I was able to get soda out of the nice orientation luncheon we have for new employees. It's slow but steady. I think we can change the whole culture." Dalidowitz presented her initiatives and vision to the hos- pital's leadership team to gain support. "It seems to have taken off," she said. "I was surprised; I was thinking I might get a lot of push back. Employees are responding. It takes a long time to change, and I appreciate that, but we're getting there." Jennifer Zarilli, a registered dietician at CCMC who is the assis- tant manager of Dalidowitz's department, said Dalidowitz has not been discouraged by any initial resistance to her proposals. "She rethought her strategies about product placement," Zarilli said. "I think change is difficult for a lot of people. She focuses on how to meet the needs of the population while still promoting a healthy environment." Zarilli said Dalidowitz is a true visionary and has a great moral compass. "She is guided by the morally right thing to do," Zarilli said. "She's very inspiring." Claire Dalidowitz Manager of Clinical Nutrition Connecticut Children's Medical Center Category Winner: CorporaTe aCHieveMeNT — HealTHiesT WorkplaCe P H O T O | C O n T r i b u T e d In an effort to improve patient health, Connecticut Children's Medical Center registered dietician Claire Dalidowitz helped develop "Dino-bite" lunches that offer lower calorie, low fat and low salt meals. The lunches aim to encourage healthy eating among the hospital's young patients.

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