THE NOURISHING EFFECT

Box 2.1
ESKENAZI HEALTH CARES ABOUT NUTRITION
Courtesy of Eskenazi Health
Lisa Harris, CEO of
Eskenazi Health,
leads a health system
that is committed
to addressing the
social determinants
of health.
Eskenazi Health in Indiana is one of the largest safety-net health systems in the country.
Its facilities include a 315-bed hospital in downtown Indianapolis and outpatient services
at 11 health centers across Marion County, the state’s most populous county with nearly a
million people.
Safety-net health systems are
those that primarily serve lowincome
patients, those insured by
Medicare and Medicaid, and people
without health insurance. For Dr.
Lisa Harris, CEO of Eskenazi Health,
health care reform means that the
rest of the country’s hospitals are
catching up with Eskenazi and how
it has operated all along. “We’ve
always had to think about how to
use our resources most efficiently,”
Harris says. “Our statutory mandate
has been to care for all, regardless
of their ability to pay. The challenges
of providing as much care as we
can to people who can’t pay forces
us to align incentives with keeping
costs low and promoting community health.”
Recently, Eskenazi Health launched a pilot program with the local affiliate of Meal on Wheels
America (MOWA). Patients discharged from the hospital are
enrolled with MOWA for 30 days and provided with medically
tailored meals prepared in the hospital cafeteria. The hospital
covers the costs of the meals that MOWA delivers. If the program
helps reduce readmission rates, it will soon pay for itself.
“Cardiac patients, who have high readmission rates, require a
lower-sodium diet,” says Harris. “If we can put someone on a
low sodium diet for just two weeks, that’s all it takes to change
their taste buds.”
The MOWA volunteers who deliver the food are trained to
Safety-net health
systems are those that
primarily serve lowincome
patients, those
insured by Medicare
and Medicaid, and
people without health
insurance.
work with patients to improve their understanding of the connections between nutrition and
health. “When patients are leaving the hospitals, they’re bombarded with so much information,”
says Harris. “Take this medicine—don’t eat this kind of food. All that patient is probably
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