Malnutrition Awareness Week
Floor Speech
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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of this week as Malnutrition Awareness Week.
Malnutrition Awareness Week is a multi-organizational, multipronged campaign that aims to educate healthcare professionals on how to identify and treat malnutrition, encourage patients to discuss their nutrition status with their healthcare providers, and increase awareness of nutrition's role in patient recovery.
While we know malnutrition can severely impact patients' health outcomes, we do not currently know the full extent of malnutrition plaguing our senior population. This is because national health surveys and indicators do not include screening measures for malnutrition. National surveys and indicators are crucial not only for identifying key issues, such as malnutrition, but also for shaping public health programs and guiding healthcare professionals. By fully understanding the health problem, we can refine these tools to better address health issues affecting older adults.
Similarly, older adults and their families need guidance on how to meet seniors' unique nutrition needs. National dietary guidelines, developed every 5 years by the Departments of Health and Human Services and of Agriculture, provide valuable information to the public in regard to a healthy diet. These guidelines are examples of Federal resources that could be tailored to reflect the nutritional needs of specific populations, such as older adults.
Since malnutrition can lead to greater risk of chronic disease, frailty, disability, and increases in health care costs, it is important to properly identify cases and provide adequate interventions, even as people transition across care settings. To strive toward this goal, we must consider options within the healthcare system and our Federal programs to improve care and nutritional support for older adults.
This week is an important opportunity to remember that the nutritional challenges facing people of all ages, and I hope my colleagues will join me in working to understand and address these challenges.
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