MEET CTUMP Nutrition Team
They have primarily focused on current practices in hospital nutrition services, and education of medical students and faculty in the areas of our partners greatest concerns for their Vietnamese communities; i.e. obesity within the population generally, the rise of Diabetes, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Disease Malnutrition, and poor Reproductive health.
Testimonial from one of the Dietitians. Susan approved as Project leader for that discipline
Dr. Susan Kleiner, PhD and Karen Friedman-Kester, MS, RD have been leading the efforts to advance Nutrition services at CTUMP, the Cardiology Hospital and the OB/GYN Hospital in Can Tho, Vietnam.
Both Susan and Karen have provided their individual observations and consultation related to kitchen services in the various hospital settings, safety practices, how public health and how medical issues related to nutrition are currently taught within the educational system.
The MEET Nutrition Team has provided a Nutritional Status Assessment form that was accepted at CTUMP for a Pilot Testing with new patients. The progress will be assessed on subsequent visits, or through on-going SKYPE communications.
Lectures have been welcomed at both the Cardiology and OB/GYN Hospitals related to clinical nutrition, meal planning and food safety. The team is dedicated to advancing Nutrition education in Academic and Medical settings.
There will be a team returning in April, 2019 to Can Tho, to include both Susan and Karen, as well as Jennifer Gaudet, Physical and Exercise Therapy, and Erik Bustillo, Nutrition and Exercise Training.
2020 End of Year Nutrition News Update
Nutrition Project leader Dr. Susan Kleiner, PhD, RD is pleased to have successfully recruited two new colleagues from Singapore. These new colleagues will assist with on-going education exchanges with CTUMP faculty for Nutrition topics.
In late 2019 Dr. Kleiner was invited to participate and present at the Singapore Institute for Sport. She met with the nutrition team including Dr. Richard (Ricco) Swinbourne, director of sleep science and nutrition for the Institute, and one of the lead dietitians, Parimala (Parim) Sivaperuman. They have broad backgrounds in clinical nutrition and the pedagogy of clinical nutrition and patient education. They expressed excitement to work with Susan and some of her U.S. MEET team to continue the work Susan has lead in Can Tho Nutrition Education. Susan, Ricco and Parim have been having on-going video chats this past year with CTUMP faculty to discuss topic needs they would most value.
Ricco and Parim will be presenting a series of on-line video seminars for our CTUMP faculty colleagues beginning in January 2021. The topics include: Nutrition Counseling and Education, Sleep Science, and Diabetes (this is a topic very personal for Ricco and he brings great passion to the subject.) This first series will be for faculty at CTUMP, followed by student teaching as Dr. Tam, who has been working with Susan, determines timing for these classes.
Dr. Kleiner expects that Ricco and Parim will be able to travel to Vietnam before our U.S. team. They would present in-person classes as soon as possible. The only obstacle being the July 2021 Olympics should they occur, as Ricco and Parim will be busy until after the July Olympics.
Susan indicates that she has enjoyed continued video chats with colleagues and friends in Vietnam, despite our MEET teams inability to travel in 2020, it has been an important means of remaining connected.
