Kathryn Marchak \u201928 (CAHNR) spent her summer working with the nutrition platform NourishedRx to help spread its mission of \u201cfood is health.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot,\u201d Marchak says. \u201cI really like their mission that \u2018food is health.\u2019 I believe that nutrition really does give the body the building blocks that it needs to heal, rebuild, and recover to perform its best.\u201d<\/p>\n
NourishedRx is a platform that offers users personalized, data-driven nutritional plans that support overall health. The company works with individuals, food suppliers, health plans and providers, and government agencies.<\/p>\n
This paid internship was offered through a collaboration between NourishedRx and the CAHNR Dean\u2019s Advisory Board, of which NourishedRx founder and CEO Lauren Driscoll is a member.<\/p>\n
\u201cKate was a great intern at NourishedRx,\u201d Driscoll says. \u201cThe team really enjoyed working with her and the other interns from CAHNR.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first five weeks of her remote internship, Marchak worked on outreach.<\/p>\n
\u201c[I\u2019ve been] getting people enrolled, really getting people to learn more about what our mission is and what we\u2019d love for them to be a part of,\u201d Marchak says.<\/p>\n
She also worked on reaching out to \u201csilent members\u201d who are already on the platform but not communicating with the NourishedRx team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin the second week, I had learned enough to be given [that] second responsibility,\u201d Marchak says.<\/p>\n
For the second half of the summer, Marchak shadowed NourishedRx\u2019s health coaches during consultations and joined meetings with registered dieticians.<\/p>\n
\u201cKate quickly mastered our systems and workflows, and made a real impact on our largest outreach program,\u201d Driscoll says. \u201cShe also joined our clinical team, where she helped to revamp our maternal health education materials \u2013 bringing creativity and real attention to detail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marchak says this internship has given her a valuable perspective on how nutrition influences people\u2019s health outcomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNourished Rx has shown me that health outcomes are influenced by much more than just medical care,\u201d Marchak says. \u201cFactors like nutrition, food access, and social support can determine whether a patient is able to follow through with their treatment plan…Good healthcare starts with understanding a person outside of the clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
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This work relates to CAHNR\u2019s Strategic Vision area focused on\u00a0<\/em>Enhancing Health and Well-Being Locally, Nationally, and Globally.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n