Jane Schwartz began working at GHRC as the new Registered Dietitian on July 7, 2015. She divides her time between Gainesville and our sister center, Manassas Health and Rehab, with two days spent in each building as well as every other Friday.
In her new role she is responsible for keeping everyone’s nutrition on track. She monitors each resident’s intake through the documentation provided by the nursing assistants and she monitors their weight as the information is updated each month. She also keeps tabs on lab results, checking levels of electrolytes, proteins, vitamins, and minerals, and making adjustments to diet orders.
If a patient or resident has active wounds, Jane often adds protein supplements and multivitamins with minerals to help with the healing process. Dialysis patients also require the addition of supplements to their diet orders.
If a resident has difficulty swallowing, Jane might make a change to the food texture, transitioning to a mechanical soft or pureed texture diet. She might also adjust the liquid consistency from thin liquids to nectar, honey, or pudding thickened liquids as needed.
On a day-to-day basis Jane is reviewing charts, looking at each resident’s BMI (body mass index), determining the proper calories, protein, fluids, and supplements that each resident needs.
Although this is Jane’s first job working as a Registered Dietitian, she is already comfortable here. She comments, “I knew I would love this population. It feels like a big family here. I love it! I feel so blessed and content. This job is such good fit for me!” She says her biggest challenge is remembering everyone’s name.
As one of five daughters, Jane grew up with a stay-at-home mom who was always cooking. Jane loved being in the kitchen and going grocery shopping with her mom. With a passion for health, nutrition, food, and a love of writing, she began her college education as an English major with a minor in nutrition. Later she was advised to change to a Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Science for better job opportunities. She graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2011.
After traveling for a while Jane began taking graduate courses through Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. While taking online classes at night, she participated in a 1200-hour dietetic internship during the day. This full-time rotation included working in food service management for Prince William County Schools, in a clinical setting at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and in a long-term care setting at Iliff Nursing and Rehab in Dunn Loring, Virginia. She earned her Registered Dietitian credentials in April and passed her exam in May 2015.
Concurrent with her job offer to work for CCR, Jane was offered an internship with Joy Bauer, nutrition and health expert for NBC’s Today show. For now Jane is doing both. She spends some of her evenings and days off researching and writing for Joy. She lives at home in Montclair, Virginia, with her family, enjoying cooking, reading, writing, walking, and spending time outdoors.
Jane comments, “I can see myself doing this for a good long while!”
GHRC is happy to have this energetic young woman looking out for the nutritional health of our residents. She is a pleasure to have around and a wonderful addition to our family!
By Lynnette Esse, Activity Director
