Newsletters
Return to Newsletter
Dietitian Joins Staff at The Valerie Fund Center at Morristown Medical Center
Morristown Valerie Fund patients enjoy making delicious fruit kebabs at one of the many cooking classes hosted by Yael Bleicher
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." Whether this popular quote actually originated with Hippocrates, known as the founder of modern medicine, is often disputed but what's mostly accepted is that nutrition influences our health and that certain foods may have healing properties.
When a child is undergoing cancer treatment and experiencing the side effects of their disease and treatment, nutritional therapy under the guidance of a dietician is critical. The Valerie Fund recognized the addition of a Registered Dietician to the psychosocial team as entirely aligned with the organization's mission. Board of Trustees member JC Uva strongly recommended funding the position at the Morristown Center citing the tangible health and social benefits to the patient and for the family as a whole. Excited about the overall positive impact, Uva, a former Valerie Fund patient said, "This is one more way in which the services The Valerie Fund provides can live with our patients for their entire lives and reach far beyond initial treatment."
During Yael Bleicher's half-dozen years as a Clinical Dietician at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, she actively participated in rounds on the Pediatrics and the Pediatric Intensive Care units. She developed a close rapport with the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology specialists and their patients. Her move to The Valerie Fund Center at Goryeb Children's Hospital, Morristown Medical Center last October was in her words, "seamless and exciting." Bleicher earned a Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics from New York University and earlier received a B.A. in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Yeshiva University, Stern College for Women also in New York. She is Board Certified as a Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition.
As The Valerie Fund's Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Dietician, Bleicher is responsible for developing and implementing individualized care plans for young cancer patients who are at high nutritional risk. Many unpleasant side effects of treatment contribute to a loss of appetite--mouth sores, metallic or bitter tastes, trouble swallowing, nausea and vomiting, constipation and diarrhea-causing weight loss and even malnutrition. Other challenges are associated with the emotional and cultural connections surrounding food and a child's poor appetite so nutritional counseling is often necessary for the patient's family as well.
The dietician's goals are to develop a plan that includes healthy, nutrient dense, kid-friendly foods that can increase strength and energy, and preserve normal growth and development. By promoting the benefits of well-balanced eating, Bleicher's objective is to ease the burden on the body, especially important when immune systems are weakened. As she raises her own three young children, Bleicher appreciates that lifelong healthy eating habits begin early. In the monthly Kid's Cooking Classes she organized at The Valerie Fund Center she also directly observes how patients' hands-on experience in the kitchen is more likely to create an interest in trying new foods they've made themselves.
Snacks like fruit kabobs, chocolate balls, and homemade pita chips and guacamole are fun to eat and are good choices for smaller, more frequent meals. The cooking classes teach healthy eating habits and feature foods that while not magic elixirs, help the body to heal and repair.
To read more about the monthly cooking program Yael Bleicher runs please check out the latest Valerie Fund blog at https://blog.thevaleriefund.org/valerie-fund-dietitian-at-morristown-medical-center.