Community Health

When Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center Executive Director Susan Sedensky sat down a few months ago with Joseph Zuzel, the new manager of community health for Hartford HealthCare’s East Region, it was a true meeting of the minds.

“It was amazing,” she recalled. “Joe was talking about his vision, and I was talking about my vision, and we learned we had the same vision! We both want to educate community food pantry clients on healthy food choices. I have been wanting to do this forever, to educate people about their food.”

Together they created a program unique to the East Region — a Backus Hospital-based registered dietician, Katie Field, held two information sessions at the PNC in July and August to teach first staff and then volunteers about food choices specific to several health conditions, including kidney disease, heart disease and diabetes. HHC is also providing laminated handouts to help guide staff and volunteers as they pack food boxes for distribution, and additional flyers to provide to pantry clients.

“My goal with community health in the East Region is to create collaborations and partnerships that have a long term positive effect on the health of residents across the region,” Zuzel said. “By teaming up with the PNC to help provide people with the best foods for their specific health and dietary needs, we are truly embedding ourselves in the wellbeing of the community.”

In 2020, the PNC food pantry served 1,500 families in the greater Stonington area, an increase of about 200 families that Sedensky attributes to the economic hardships brought on by COVID.  In addition, every Friday it sends home “Weekend BackPacks” with enough food for two days, with about 300 children. The food pantry is open five days a week, utilizing curbside pickup. In-person “shopping” was halted by the pandemic. Each family typically takes home 4-5 shopping bags/boxes a week, filled with staples, canned goods, fresh vegetables from the PNC community garden, meats and dairy.

“Being able to create food boxes for clients who have specific health issues will be incredible,” Sedensky said. “We often hear from clients that they have a new diagnosis, and it can be overwhelming to them. This is an easy way for us to help them.”

Field provided training on healthy diets for patients who have heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. She also shared strategies for getting people to try new foods that will be better for their health.

“Don’t present it as, ‘You can’t have this …’,” she counseled. “Instead, present it as ‘Here’s everything you can have, and let’s try and limit these things.’ We want to always focus on fresh or frozen versus processed or canned. They might not be used to that, so take it slow.

By ELISSA BASS

You know the old adage, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” East Region Community Health Manager Joseph Zuzel, in partnership with Windham and Backus hospital dieticians, clinicians and chefs, are bringing that philosophy to eastern Connecticut residents. 

This month, a Healthy Cooking program was launched in partnership with CLiCK (Commercially Licensed Co-Operative Kitchen) in Windham. George Zern, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Windham Hospital, is teaching four classes to people diagnosed with diabetes, providing healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack menus, recipes and techniques. 

In December, a heart-healthy version of the program will launch at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center’s Coogan Farm, taught by Scott Mickleson, executive chef at Backus Hospital. 

Zuzel said the program is much more than a simple cooking class. Dieticians also join and provide information on nutrition (both general and diagnosis-specific), as well as tips for efficient and cost-effective grocery shopping, why it’s better to eat at home than grab takeout, why family mealtimes are important, and even what types of tools are needed to be able to make home-cooked meals. 

The first session at CLiCK “went really well,” said Angela Frankland RD, CD-N, Clinical and Outpatient Dietitian at Windham Hospital. “George did an awesome job not only teaching the recipes but teaching the participants basic cooking skills and safe food-handling skills. We gave basic nutrition education, i.e; how starting your day off with a low carb, high protein breakfast can help better manage blood sugars throughout the day. We also talked about why the foods we chose were healthy in other aspects, such as eggs are high in Vitamin D and protein.” 

The Windham program was created in conjunction with Diabetes Educator Karen Barbone, RN. The Mystic program is a partnership with cardiologists based at Hartford HealthCare’s Mystic HealthCenter, Lisa Gibney, director of food services at Backus, and Lauren Nichols, clinical nutrition manager at Backus, as well as Mickleson. 

Both programs are free to participants. 

Breakfast Muffin Cup
Yield: 10 servings
Pre grease a muffin tin. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

INGREDIENTS:

• 20 ounces pasteurized liquid eggs
• 20 ounces baby spinach, chopped
• 12 ounces diced tomatoes
• 1 red or yellow pepper, diced
• 10 ounces low fat shredded cheese

Lightly whisk the eggs for 2 minutes. Set aside.

Evenly distribute all the vegetables in the pre-greased muffin tins. Measure 4 oz. of the liquid eggs over the vegetables into each muffin tin.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 12-15 minutes until internal temp reaches 165F. Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes prior to serving. Can be made a day ahead and reheated.

by Elissa Bass

The Rx for Health program, which celebrated its 10th anniversary at Backus Hospital last year, will expand to Windham this summer.

In addition, the program has been streamlined, making it easier for families to utilize it.

Rx for Health provides nutritionally at-risk families with “prescriptions” for fresh produce that come from their doctor or other healthcare provider. In the Norwich area, the vouchers can be redeemed for fresh fruits and vegetables at the weekly Farmers Market at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park.

In Windham, the program will be available at the Willimantic Food Co-op (91 Valley St., Willimantic), the Willimantic Farmers Market (Saturdays, 8 a.m.-noon, 28 Bridge St., Willimantic) and the Windham Hospital Farmstand (Wednesdays, 3-6 p.m., 132 Mansfield Ave., Willimantic).

Each “prescription” is worth $126.

Windham Hospital has partnered with Generations Family Health Center in Willimantic to promote the program and recruit families to use it. Casey Squier, engagement services manager for Generations, said 20 families will be identified by the organization's staff pediatricians to receive the vouchers.

“We are always looking for creative ways to help our patients be more healthy and make better life choices,” Squier said. “Our care coordinators will work with the families to overcome any barriers there may be — cultural, financial, logistical — to get them to these markets to use the vouchers in the best way.”

The expansion into Windham was made possible by a donation to the program by the Windham Hospital Foundation.

“The Windham Hospital Foundation is pleased to provide funding to pilot a Rx for Health program in the greater Willimantic community in order for families with children to receive adequate amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis,” said Shawn J. Maynard, executive director of the Foundation. “The board of trustees of the Foundation looks for ways to provide funding for programs and services for the patients the Hospital serves, whether it be in a hospital setting or in the community.”

Joseph Zuzel, manager of Community Health for Hartford HealthCare’s East Region, said he was pleased that he could bring together the hospital’s Foundation and a community partner to bring the Rx for Health program to the Willimantic area.

“Being able to bring together these organizations to improve the health of the community is what we are all about,” he said.

Funded by the Backus Hospital Development Office, Rx for Health started as an initiative for the Backus Hospital Healthy Community Campaign and has been a hugely successful program serving the Backus Community since its pilot in 2011. 

In addition to receiving the fresh foods, registered dietitians provide the families with nutrition counseling and education materials that cover an array of wellness topics including:

• How to stay active as a family
• Tips for being healthy for busy families
• Healthy snack ideas for children and toddlers
• Healthy recipes utilizing the many fruits and vegetables in-season

A survey of program participants in 2019 showed that tight finances affect how families buy food, including food choices.

Of the 55 people who completed the survey, 27 percent felt as though they were not able to make healthy choices for their family. Of those, 11 stated it was because of money. The surveys also revealed that within the past 12 months, 53 percent of families were worried they would run out of food before they had money to buy more; 31 percent did run out of food and didn’t have money to buy more.

Also, 75 percent said that before their participation in Rx for Health, their children received a fruit or vegetable every day. At the end of the 2019 program, 100 percent of the families said their children were able to receive fruits and vegetables every day.

A new program at Windham Hospital is providing local elementary students a way to practice altruism while also bringing a smile to hospital patients’ faces.

Called “Well Wishes and Dishes,” it’s the brainchild of East Region Community Health Manager Joseph Zuzel. Zuzel approached Kathleen Monroe, speech-language pathologist and Special Education team leader at the Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy, with the idea of having students create get well cards for patients at Windham Hospital.

Launched in early October, the students make the cards, which are then delivered to new patients at Windham on their lunch trays. So far, 259 cards have been delivered to Windham, and more than 100 have been delivered to patients.

“Part of what this accomplishes is it helps to erase any stigmas kids may have about hospitals or being in the hospital,” Zuzel said. “It also speaks to their social and emotional needs, being able to make something that will make someone else feel better - that’s huge for kids, and even more right now during the pandemic. To do something nice for someone you don’t even know, that’s learning altruism.”

At the STEM Barrows Academy, the initiative is meant to prompt teachers to have a conversation with their students about community and messages that would be positive. Each month, students have a different theme to address when they make the cards. Topics up for discussion include altruism, empathy, compassion, responsibility, generosity, inclusion, fairness.