Recognizing Malnutrition Awareness Week 2018

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to observe Malnutrition Awareness Week which was September 24 through 28, 2018.

Access to proper nutrition is critical for all Americans, especially our seniors. Every 60 seconds, ten hospitalized patients with malnutrition go undiagnosed, and many of these patients are older adults. The malnutrition awareness outreach effort is a step in the right direction to defeat this problem that plagues vulnerable populations.

Malnutrition Awareness Week is a multi-organizational, multi-pronged effort created by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition to: educate healthcare professionals to identify and treat malnutrition earlier; educate consumers and patients about the need to discuss their nutrition status with healthcare professionals; and increase awareness of nutrition's role in patient recovery.

The Malnutrition Awareness Week campaign also highlights the need to focus on common-sense solutions that can close the care gap, thereby helping to reduce premature morbidity and mortality as well as hospitalizations, re-admissions and other variables that may increase the cost of care. We can begin by measuring the scope of the problem and by adding metrics for older adult malnutrition to national dietary guidelines. I believe increasing awareness will help our nation educate families and help seniors live healthier lives for years to come.

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