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WELCOME!
Registered Dietitian, Paralegal, Piano Teacher, Professional Obituary Writer
Over 30+ years as a nutrition expert interacting with multiple generations and economic groups, I have found a way to ply my trade in long term care while offering other life-enriching services. Read on to find out how.
ABOUT ME
I am a registered dietitian, for 10 years board certified in gerontology/long term care, and fortunate to have stumbled into a niche that gives me the opportunity to travel all over the country: 48 states so far. My husband, Bob, and I live in Stone Mountain Village outside Atlanta with our Maine Coon cat Tabbs. We worship with a diverse church in Atlanta and are graced with friends in many faith groups.
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In addition to consulting in long term care nutrition and food service management/operations, we offer menu construction and nutritional analysis.
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I am a qualified paralegal and have supported firms as they gather evidence in cases of suspected neglect and abuse. Please call me if you need an expert witness in cases of weight loss, pressure wounds, and aspiration.
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I am a piano teacher and a professional proofreader. I have 4 piano students, using zoom because of quarantine and because my job requires extensive travel. My most recent proofreading project was on the bylaws for a diverse church congregation that is realigning itself with the changing character of its community.
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​Finally, after experiencing losses of my own and sharing with friends in their own grief, I have discovered a need to help others express their sorrow by helping construct unique obituaries that memorialize that loved one.
Things I can't live without: books, NPR, Airbnb, family/old friends, travel
FAVES
Books: A Lesson before Dying, Snow Falling on Cedars, Rebecca, Being Mortal, Blood Done Sign My Name, the Thomas Cahill series The Hinges of History
Movies: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Gran Torino
Music: Anything that happens on the MountainStage stage
Favorite travel destinations: Michigan Upper Peninsula, Normandy, Wales, Louisiana, the State of Jefferson
Hobbies: gardening, food, long walks at Stone Mountain Park and with my AllTrails app
Food: Mediterranean
MY STORY
How I Began and Where I’m Headed
Full disclosure: I’m no spring chicken. DRGs (precursor of ICD codes) were implemented right after I started work, and HIV was known as HTLV3. The topic of dietitian reimbursement was just being batted about. Licensure was a dream. The profession has changed enormously over these 30+ years. Dietitians now have lateral and vertical job opportunities that for so long were just hopes and dreams. I’m privileged to have worked with RDs in my age cohort who helped fuel the engine that propelled us forward. This would be my advice to my younger self—take off the blinders, think about horizontal career development, get to know people in every part of the organization. Consider everyone you meet to be a lifelong resource. Treasure every relationship, not because they will be useful but because they will inspire you.
As I was finishing my AP4 (ADA’s graduate plan for an MS back in the 1980’s) at Louisiana Tech, I felt drawn to Memphis. A couple of jobs in entry level management were offered to me in Oklahoma and Mississippi, but the one I accepted was a clinical position at “The Baptist.” At the time, it was the largest private nonprofit hospital in the country, with 2,200 beds. It swapped that rank with “The Methodist” from time to time.
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IT WAS, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE BEST STARTER JOB I COULD HAVE CHOSEN, AND HERE’S WHY:
My unit was a general med/surg floor that served un- and underinsured patients from five States in the Mississippi Valley. They were poor, ravaged by disability, chronic disease or severe trauma. In all the years since, I’ve never seen a disease state that I didn’t see at least once at The Baptist. And in the days before Risk Management, I even was able to attend surgeries. The docs on my floor were UT residents who ordered any lab or procedure I suggested.
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Having previously spent a year as a teacher in West Africa, I already knew a lot about food insecurity. In Memphis, I became local coordinator for the Citizens’ lobby, Bread for the World, which supports legislation that improves access to food for people all over the world. I was lucky to have a department director who was always willing to try anything new, and The Baptist, assisted by cab drivers all over the City, hosted a Christmas Day dinner for homeless men and women. All our managers were on hand (few of our RDs, sadly), and I heard later that the event continued for several years after I moved on.
“Adventure” is the word that best describes my first job, professionally and personally. I hope the same for you.
One thing I hear repeatedly from managers is that their RDs don’t like to venture into the production area. Over the years managers have said, “You are the first RD who has ever offered to help out.” Every morning when I get to work I walk through the kitchen to say hello. Remember, we are all on the same team, and the respect you earn from stepping outside the clinical bubble will resound through your career.
CONTACT
Interested in any of the opportunities GBiz offers? Please leave us a message in the box over here------->