Nutritional Medicine: Keeping patients healthy

Published May 15, 2014
By Staff Sgt. Evelyn Chavez
455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Every morning starts well before 5:30 a.m. The Airmen open the doors to their small cafeteria to restock their shelves with juice and bread, while the smell of fresh coffee fills the room and hospital hallways. Then, they prepare to pick up their first meal of the day.

This is the daily routine the diet technicians at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan complete to fulfill their mission of helping patients heal by providing nutritional care and food service.

"Our goal in nutritional medicine is to feed the patients so they can get better... we improve their health by providing them with three daily meals," said Master Sgt. Janet Budzinack, 455th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron nutritional medicine flight chief deployed from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio and a native of Fontana, Calif.

With the start of their regular routine, the nutritional medicine staff begins their checklist before making a drive to pick up the first meal of the day. Because the cafeteria does not include a kitchen, the diet technicians make what is known as a "meal run" to the dining facility to pick up hot meals for the patients.

First, the team takes inventory of their supplies, this helps ensure they don't need any necessary additional items. Afterward, the diet technicians pick up their daily order from the medical ward, this helps determine how many patients are there and their required diet type. Finally, before the staff makes their "meal runs" they prepare the trays with the non-perishable items.

While their main goal is to feed the patients, nutritional medicine provides meals for the patient's guardians and medical staff who are unable to leave the hospital.

"Because of their mission tempo, we make sure to bring enough food to feed some of our hospital staff... nurses, doctors and some technicians cannot leave the patients therefore it's difficult for them to step out for a quick trip to the dining facility," said Budzinack.

Although the mission of the diet technicians is the same at homebase, there are additional challenges while being deployed.

"Here things we need aren't always available," said Budzinack.
"It is easier to get the food you need [stateside], but here we have limited supplies... we always try to tell the customers there are limited items but sometimes we get items they like and it makes them really happy."

Even with the small challenges, the nutritional medicine four-man team manages to provide more than 11,000 meals a month.

"I feel like we are doing a service to those in need," said Staff Sgt. Latrice Copeland, 455th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron diet technician deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. and a native of Portsmouth, Va. "We are here for a purpose, to deliver the food for the patients and staff who aren't able to get away."

According to Copeland, they provide the tools [food] and resources [patient diet instructions/healthy eating habits] necessary to enable a speedy recovery of patients and provide nutrition to stabilize all other personnel at a healthy level.

"We are part of the mission, if we weren't here people would not be fed and it would be difficult for them to recover or perform their job," said Copeland.

After the patients and medical staff are served, the nutritional medicine team finally gets to enjoy some of the food they serve until it is time do it all over again for the next "meal run".