© 2026 Canadian Malnutrition Task Force
Addressing Malnutrition After Hospital Discharge: Closing the Gap in Nutrition Care
October 7, 2026 | 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
This webinar is brought to you by CMTF as part of Canadian Malnutrition Awareness Week™ October 5 - 9, 2026 "Lead The Change"
This webinar is presented in English / Ce webinaire sera présenté en Anglais.
Webinar description:
The transition from hospital to home is a critical period for adults who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Without appropriate nutrition follow-up after discharge, patients are at increased risk of continued nutritional decline, delayed recovery, hospital readmissions, and poorer health outcomes.
Evidence-based malnutrition pathways and standards of care emphasize the importance of nutrition-focused discharge planning and seamless transitions of care. However, nutrition is often underprioritized during the discharge process, leading to inconsistent communication between healthcare settings, limited follow-up, and gaps in continuity of nutrition care.
This webinar will examine the current state of nutrition care transitions from hospital to community through the perspectives of dietitians working in acute care and community settings across multiple provinces. Speakers will discuss common barriers and facilitators to effective transitions of nutrition care, highlight opportunities to implement standardized discharge processes, and share practical strategies to improve communication and collaboration across the continuum of care.
Building on successful models of integrated primary care, speakers will also explore how stronger partnerships between hospitals, primary care providers, and multidisciplinary teams can enhance continuity of nutrition care, improve follow-up for patients at risk of or living with malnutrition, and support better patient outcomes.
This webinar is intended for dietitians, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals involved in the nutrition care, discharge planning, and community follow-up of adults at risk of or experiencing malnutrition.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:
- Describe the importance of including nutrition in discharge planning and continuity of nutrition care for patients who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.
- Identify common barriers and facilitators that influence successful transitions of nutrition care from hospital to community settings.
- Discuss practical strategies and standardized processes that can improve communication, referrals, and continuity of nutrition care across healthcare settings.
- Explore how multidisciplinary teams and integrated primary care models can strengthen post-discharge nutrition follow-up and improve patient outcomes.
Speakers:
- Heather Keller, RD, PhD, FDC, FCAHS, Schlegel Research Chair in Nutrition & Aging, University of Waterloo
- Michele MacDonald Werstuck, RD, MSc, CDE, Nutrition Groups Coordinator, Hamilton Family Health Team, Ontario
Moderator: Heather Keller, RD, PhD, FDC, FCAHS, Schlegel Research Chair in Nutrition & Aging, University of Waterloo
About the Speakers:
Heather Keller, RD PhD FDC FCAHS - Professor Keller is an internationally recognized expert in geriatric nutrition, assessment, and treatment. Her research areas focus on nutrition risk and malnutrition identification and treatment across care sectors; improving nutrition care processes and implementing screening and other best practices; supporting food intake of diverse groups living in the community, including those living with dementia; and improving hospital and residential food and promoting food intake and the mealtime experience in these settings. She has led several national research and knowledge translation projects, including the landmark Nutrition Care in Canadian Hospitals, More-2-Eat and Making the Most of Mealtimes in Long Term Care studies. Professor Keller has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles and has been the co-chair of CMTF’s Primary Care Working Group.
Michele MacDonald Werstuck, RD MSc CDE - As a family health team dietitian for over 30 years, Michele is a proud supporter of primary care nutrition. She is well known from her work as chair of the past Dietitians of Canada Primary Health Care Action Group and Primary Care Dietitians Association Best Practices Committees creating clinical tools for best practices and demonstrating the value of dietetics to improve health outcomes. Michele has been part of CMTF’s Primary and Community Care working Group for many years where she co-created toolkits for health care providers and facilitated lunch and learn mentoring sessions. As one of the speakers for this webinar, she will provide a snapshot of malnutrition management within family health teams and share the importance of creating networks and working closely with community partners.
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