Dear Medical Provider: At WIC our most medically challenged participants are seen by dietitians and degreed nutritionists. When your WIC patients need special nutrition services, we are there to provide them.

Please help us to do our jobs better.

When Referring Any Patient Please provide the clinical, biochemical and anthropometric data indicated on the WIC referral forms when you refer any patient to WIC. This will enable our staff to provide appropriate services to all our participants.

Patients With Nutrition-Related Diseases When your patients have nutrition-related diseases, please refer them to a registered dietitian outside of WIC. Medical nutrition therapy is beyond the scope and funding of the WIC Program. However we are available to review and reinforce your patients’ medical nutrition therapy plans during
follow-up sessions at WIC.

High Risk Participants Some of the patients you refer to our WIC Program have mild-to-severe nutrition-related diseases both short-term and chronic. We refer to these patients as “WIC high risk participants.”

We review the medical data on our WIC referral forms to identify high risk participants.

Once you have indicated that your patients meet certain nutritional and/or medical risk criteria, our Special Nutrition Services Department, staffed by registered dietitians and degreed nutritionists, will provide them comprehensive nutritional services at any of our 11 WIC centers, assuming they are eligible for WIC. Learn more about the Special Nutrition Services Department here>>

Responding to Needs Our dietitians and degreed nutritionists respond to a participant’s needs by
• conducting a nutritional assessment
• developing an individualized nutrition care plan
• promoting breastfeeding when appropriate
• providing motivational counseling
• providing periodic follow-up
• reevaluating on a continuing basis
• making referrals to community resources
• reviewing a participant’s medical nutrition therapy plan
• reinforcing that plan

Advocates for Breastfeeding All our Special Nutrition Services staff are well-trained in breastfeeding practices and actively promote it.

We appreciate your referrals and your collaboration.

Sincerely,

Nancy Ann Damiani, MPH, RD, CLE
Chief of Special Nutrition Services
ndamiani@slahp.org
(323) 757-7244 ext.251