Page 30 - Today's Dietitian (March 2020)

Donna Yester, MAE, RDN, LD B-FED, which is part of a collaboration between UAB and
Clinical Dietitian at the University of Alabama Birmingham AIDS Outreach. Through that program, hundreds
at Birmingham Department of Medicine of individuals living with HIV or AIDS receive food boxes with
fresh fruits and vegetables and whole wheat bread. Step by
Donna Yester is on a mission—a mission step, she says, changes are being made.
to provide nutritious food and culinary The hours can be long—and the work some-
education to people living with HIV or times can feel exhausting—but Yester says the
AIDS, a valiant effort to stamp out food relationships she builds with her patients keep
insecurity and improve access to better her from burning out. Her patients often wax
health and wellness within this community. poetic about how her support and encourage-
It’s an effort to which she has dedicated ment over the years have made a huge difference
most of her career. in their lives.
Yester has served as a dietitian at the But, nonetheless, Yester says there’s still more
University of Alabama at Birmingham’s work to be done.
(UAB) department of medicine for 30 “Though we’ve come a long way, there’s still
years, spending two decades of that time a lot of stigma surrounding HIV and many of
specializing in HIV nutrition at the Center these folks are marginalized,” she says. “That’s
for AIDS Research. Yester also plays an important role in why I’m here. I consider myself a worker bee and will just
fighting food insecurity by referring patients to Birmingham keep going. If I can change the life of even a single person,
AIDS Outreach Food and Education Delivery program, or then it’s all been worth it.”

Deepa Deshmukh, MPH, RDN, CDE, BC-ADM with the VNA’s FreshFirst program, which helps provide
Cofounder of DuPage Dietitians in Lisle, Illinois access to fresh fruits and vegetables. She also has advocated
and helped secure funding for a wellness kitchen within
After emigrating from India to the United States in 1993 with the VNA Center and has developed a kitchen-based chronic
a degree in food science and nutrition, Deepa Deshmukh disease care curriculum to teach patients how to manage
embarked on an illustrious career in public health, private heart health, weight, and diabetes through healthful eating.
practice, public speaking, nutrition communications, and Deshmukh says diabetes is near and dear to her heart, as she
food product entrepreneurship. Her ongoing, lofty mission lost her father to the disease.
is to help all people maintain good health through nutrition. In her career, Deshmukh always has been a problem solver
However, she recognized that people would and one who seeks to fill a void. When she rec-
need access to sound nutrition information to ognized many of her private practice vegetar-
meet that goal. Her first position, volunteering ian and flexitarian patients were struggling to
at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, incorporate lentils into their diets, Deshmukh
gave her the opportunity to teach nutrition created Lentil Krispies as part of her Nutrition-
to families living in homeless shelters—an ist Deepa brand. These ready-to-eat, clean-label
a-ha moment that fostered in her a passion for add-ons can be used in soups, salads, yogurts,
public health, compelling her to get her Master and more. Deshmukh also worked with a man-
of Public Health degree. ufacturer to develop a lentil-based meat sub-
Early in her career, Deshmukh fought for stitute designed for school, workplace, and
dietitians to be recognized by insurance com- hospital cafeterias—areas in foodservice that
panies as credible health care practitioners currently are lacking plant-based options. This
and be included as in-network providers. As a product will undergo taste trials this spring.
private practitioner, she was the first dietitian in Illinois to be In an effort to reach more people with her nutrition mes-
included under Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and Humana—help- sage, Deshmukh recently launched a podcast called Ask Nutri-
ing patients get reimbursed for MNT. tionist Deepa and is in the process of developing a program
Today, her quest to improve accessibility to health called Power Me Up, which will be available as a webinar for
care for everyone continues. In addition to working in those transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle.
private practice, she works at VNA Health Care Illinois, a “Most of the accomplishments that I’ve had go back to
community-based, not-for-profit health care provider in the enhancing accessibility,” Deshmukh says. “Without access to
Chicago suburbs serving vulnerable populations battling science-based nutrition information, people can’t be expected
chronic health conditions. Deshmukh has been involved to make changes.”

30 TODAY’S DIETITIAN • MARCH 2020