Nutrition Services

Your nutritional health is an important part of your overall health. Our nutrition department offers a wide variety of services to ensure each patient is provided quality nutritional care.

Registered Dietitians (RD) are a part of the medical team. Currently, Nephrology Inc. employs six registered dietitians (RD) to assist with the nutritional care of our patients. All RDs have completed a bachelor's degree in dietetics at an accredited college or university, completed a supervised internship, and has passed a national exam. Dialysis patients are seen on a monthly basis by a dietitian. Patients can also be seen for pre-dialysis education in an outpatient setting.

People on dialysis need to follow a specific diet. The dialysis treatment alone cannot clean the blood as well as normal kidneys. Eating the right foods can help limit certain waste products from building up in your blood between dialysis treatments.

The renal diet is ever-changing. You will meet with a dietitian within the first couple of weeks of starting dialysis. A nutritional assessment will be completed and your dialysis diet based upon your specific needs will be explained.

Your dietitian will review your lab work each month. Any diet changes that need to be made will be discussed with you. This is also a good opportunity for you to ask any nutritional questions you may have.

If you are on dialysis, the service of a RD is automatically included in your dialysis treatment costs. There is a modest fee for diet counseling prior to starting dialysis.

Nutrition is a key factor in Renal/Kidney disease. The areas that are reviewed may not apply to every patient. Please be sure to check with your Nephrologist before making any changes or starting anything new.

If you would like to talk with a Dietitian, please feel free to call between, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday:

Mishawaka – (574) 273-6787

Elkhart – (574) 294-4444

or e-mail us.