Saint Alphonsus in Ontario to Provide Mobile Nutrition Education to Local Community

Saint Alphonsus in Ontario to Provide


Mobile Nutrition Education to Local Community


Grant awarded to Saint Alphonsus will fund mobile nutrition van


designed to reduce rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease

Ontario, OR – Thanks to a recent grant by the Collins Foundation, Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Ontario will soon offer a mobile nutrition education program to local communities. The Eastern Oregon Frontier Nutrition Program, driven by the recently approved grant through the Collins Foundation for over $32,000, will deploy efforts to educate, screen, and counsel area residents on proper diet and nutrition. The new program represents heightened efforts to decrease Oregon's area's above-average rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

The program, which will operate from a medically retrofitted van provided through support from Gentry Ford, will travel to rural areas of Eastern Oregon to provide nutrition counseling, education, and medical testing to underserved areas. Both English and Spanish-speaking nutritionists and diabetes educators will offer blood glucose testing, body mass index (BMI) monitoring, bone density screening, diet and exercise education, cooking classes, and more.

"After looking closely at what our community needed to become healthier, we determined that access to nutrition and wellness services could make a major difference," said Deb Hampton, Supervisor of Clinical Dietetic Services. "The program has the ability to reach underserved populations in a new way, and serves as a great start in addressing chronic health conditions."

"If common health conditions like diabetes and heart disease are managed appropriately, people can avoid health crises like heart attacks or strokes," said Ken Hart, Vice President of Operations for Saint Alphonsus Medical Center – Ontario. "The new mobile nutrition program improves access to health professionals to help manage these conditions. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to provide this program locally."

Malheur County holds the highest poverty rate in Oregon, high rates of chronic obesity-related illness, and large travel times to reach hospital and health services; primary issues that the Eastern Oregon Frontier Nutrition Program hopes to address. The program plans to launch in the fall of 2015.

About Saint Alphonsus Health System


As a faith-based Catholic ministry and not-for-profit health system, Saint Alphonsus Health System reinvests in the communities we serve, through charity care and other benefits. Our goal is to improve the health and well-being of individuals by emphasizing care that is patient-centered, physician-led, innovative and community-based. Saint Alphonsus Health System serves the people of southwestern Idaho, eastern Oregon and northern Nevada through the following facilities: Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center - Boise, ID; Saint Alphonsus Medical Center – Nampa, ID; Saint Alphonsus Medical Center – Ontario, OR; Saint Alphonsus Medical Center – Baker City, OR; and Saint Alphonsus Medical Group with primary and specialty care providers at over 60 clinic locations, all of which are members of the Saint Alphonsus Health Alliance, a network of over 1500 employed and independent providers focused on making care easy to access, improving health outcomes and reducing the costs of healthcare. To find out more go to: www.saintalphonsus.org