Nourish to flourish.
For Alexa Danial, a registered dietitian at UHN's Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Bickle Centre, it's more than just the theme of Nutrition Month 2025 in Canada. It's a way of being.
"Food is not just a means of nourishment, it's essential for recovery, strength and joy," says Alexa, who joined UHN in April 2024. "As a dietitian, part of my role is to ensure that each patient's diet aligns with and supports their health goals."
At UHN, the Clinical Nutrition team includes about 90 registered dietitians and diet technicians who work with multidisciplinary care teams and about 300 members of Nutrition Services. Collectively, they plan meals and snacks, and ensure the delivery to inpatients across UHN sites.
"Research shows that nutrition care can improve patient health outcomes, length of stay, and even quality of life," says Amanda Beales, Clinical Nutrition Discipline Head at UHN. "Our team does a great job partnering with patients to find individualized solutions to complex nutrition problems, and ensures that patients receive nutrition, whether by mouth or when necessary, by alternate means such as tube feeds or intravenously."
For Alexa, a recent experience working with a patient with a spinal cord injury on Unit North 3 at Bickle Centre offered a perfect example of how food is therapy and has the power to heal.
When the patient was referred to Alexa it was noted that he had a reopened wound and was unhappy with his meals. There was also understanding of the need for protein to help with healing.
In the initial assessment, they discussed at length the patient's diet preferences. One that stood out was that he enjoyed fish but was not receiving it on his meal trays. Alexa consulted with another member of the UHN Nutrition team and tuna sandwiches were added to his meal trays.
"The patient was very pleased that he was able to get tuna added to his meal trays," Alexa says.
Along with an open dialogue with patients, Alexa says family members and other care providers are also "essential partners" in optimal nutritional care and improved well-being.
"Patients often crave familiar foods from home, and we work closely with loved ones to fulfill these wishes," she says. "Facilitating shared meals or involving families in feeding during mealtimes not only improves oral intake but reinforces social and emotional bonds."
At Bickle Centre, UHN Wellness Partners organize food-centered events that encourage communal meal sharing and meaningful conversations. From coffee delivery to fine dining events twice per year, these occasions provide an opportunity for patients to connect with staff and each other over a warm drink or meal they may not have the chance to enjoy outside the site.
"We strive to support patients in meeting their energy, protein and fluid needs, considering factors like food preferences, cultural diets, and food allergies and intolerances to optimize oral intake," says Alexa, who has bachelor's degrees in kinesiology from York University and nutrition and food from Toronto Metropolitan University. She completed a Professional Masters Diploma in Dietitians program in association with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in June 2023.
Alexa says UHN's initiative to increase menu choices for patients "has significantly improved meal acceptance," which enables them to be more involved in their own care. However, dietary restrictions such as texture-modified ones where food is pureed or therapeutic diets for patients with diabetes can increase the challenge to maintain nourishment, she says.
"This is where dietitians and diet technicians play a vital role in adapting meals to ensure they are both safe and enjoyable," Alexa says.
In the case of the patient on North 3 with the spinal cord injury, Alexa says he referred to the collaboration between her and his spouse as "an extremely positive teamwork exercise."
"It was remarkably successful," he told Alexa, emphasizing the supportive and responsive care.
