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DC submission to Ontario's 2019 pre-budget consultations

Dietitians of Canada provided the following recommendations to the Ontario government for the 2019 budget. 
 

1. Invest in dietitian services across the health system to take advantage of proven cost-effectiveness:

  • Ensure dietitian services are embedded in the development of the provincial framework for mental health and addictions.
  • Support models of primary care that integrate dietitian services within the interdisciplinary primary health care teams.
  • Invest in dietitian time for LTC homes at a minimum of 45 minutes/resident/month.
  • Enable flexibility in providing nutrition services within home care to decrease or delay the need for more costly client services and for admission to acute care or placement in long term care homes.
  • Invest in public health programs, specifically dietitian-led nutrition programs, to support healthy living at all ages, reducing the burden of chronic disease on our health care system.
  • Sustain funding for the Dietitian Advisory Service (through TeleHealth), an innovative delivery model, that provides consumers and health intermediaries with easy, remote access to the credible advice of dietitians. 
2. Develop policies to encourage malnutrition screening and treatment in primary health care and hospitals to support ending hallway healthcare by avoiding hospitalization and decreasing length of stay.
 
3. Ensure that social assistance recipients (and all Ontarians) have access to healthy foods, by monitoring impact of social assistance changes on food insecurity and health.

4. Provide sufficient dedicated funding for food in LTC homes to meet residents’ needs and preference.

5. Provide curriculum supports for embedding food literacy concepts in K-12 education.
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