Vernon Rose - Executive Director - The Unique Approach of Nashville General Hospital, Food Pharmacy and Health Literacy, and Having a Career with Meaning

Previous Episode: Dr. Marc Watkins – Chief Medical Officer – Food as Medicine, Listen to Understand Racism, and Kroger’s Response to the Pandemic

Next Episode: Dr. Lyle Berkowitz - CEO - Automated Patient Care, Virtual Health Innovation, and Effective Problem-Solving

In this episode, Vernon Rose, Executive Director of Nashville General Hospital Foundation, joins us to share why Nashville General Hospital is unique, their food pharmacy program, the importance of health literacy, initiatives that help the most vulnerable in Nashville’s community, and her reason for joining the Foundation. Listeners both inside and outside the Nashville healthcare community will learn from and be inspired by Rose’s insight.

The Unique Approach of Nashville General Hospital (2:33)
40% of the NGH patient population can’t afford healthcare, which allows them to play the important role of a safety net hospital. NGH provides access to care, screenings, medications, and a healthy food pantry to those who wouldn’t otherwise have it.

How a Food Pharmacy Supports Healthy Decisions (9:05)
Rose describes the food pharmacy which is staffed with nutritionists who examine a patient’s specific diagnosis and customize their box of food and nutritional education to support individual health needs.

Low Health Literacy Puts a Strain on the Whole Health System (19:02)
The CDC estimates that about 88% of Americans do not have the health literacy skills necessary to interact with the U.S. healthcare system. Rose shares some of the extreme cases of illiteracy she sees in patients. A lack of health literacy puts a strain on the whole health system when only 12% of people can fully understand what they are consuming and what’s being provided to them.

Nashville Community Events and Initiatives (25:05)
The conversation on health literacy led to initiatives that NGH Foundation created to help educate the community they serve such as the 2020 Nashville Health Literacy Forum. Most recently, they launched the Woman 2 Woman event to support the vulnerable population of new mothers with convertible car seats and other member-voted outreach services. And in response to the pandemic, Rose shares the story of how they creatively worked with a local reverend to use their food pharmacy and volunteers to provide meal deliveries for those who couldn’t leave their homes through Nourish the Heart.

Why Rose Joined the NGH Foundation (41:14)

Click here to donate to the NGH Foundation.

---

Humans in Healthcare is produced by Shearwater Health in Nashville, TN, and hosted by Chief Marketing Officer, Nathan King.
Humans in Healthcare Website
Shearwater Health Website
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Twitter
YouTube

Twitter Mentions

@shearwaterhlth