We all want our children to grow up healthy and happy, and your child’s nutrition is a crucial part of their growth and development.
So what do you do when they are slow to gain weight, have food allergies or restricted diets due to medical conditions like celiac disease or food allergies, need weight management tools, or require extra support for improved sports performance? Ask your child’s pediatrician or primary care provider for a referral to the Outpatient Dietitian Services at Children’s Nebraska.
Services We Provide
Nutrition therapy is more than just telling kids to eat their vegetables, and it isn’t a one-size-fits-all service. Every infant, toddler, child and adolescent is unique. At Children’s, we offer the following outpatient pediatric nutritional services:
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Interventions for slow weight gain
- Infants who require catch-up growth due to prematurity, low birth weight or other underlying medical conditions
- NICU post-discharge follow-up for nutrition assessment and intervention
- Children and adolescents with slow or poor weight gain with or without underlying medical conditions
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General nutrition education
- Introduction of solid foods for infants and young toddlers
- General toddler and child nutrition
- Healthy nutrition for adolescents
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Pre-op nutrition assessment
Assessment of nutritional needs and optimization of nutritional status before medical procedures -
Review of formula mixing and optimization
Validation of proper formula mixing and guidance to support growth and development -
Restricted diets and food allergies
- Children on restrictive diets due to food allergies or medical conditions like diabetes or celiac disease
- Children who are at risk for nutrient deficiencies due to vegan or vegetarian lifestyle
- FODMAP education and management
- Transition from food restrictions (e.g., milk-soy-protein intolerance or MSPI diet)
- Education to guide management of food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) or eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)
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Weight management for children and adolescents
- Children who do not quality for or who have graduated from Children’s Weight & Wellness program and would benefit from ongoing medical weight management and nutrition education
- Children with weight-related health outcomes, such as sleep apnea, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes
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Sports nutrition
- Middle school and high school athletes seeking guidance on healthy eating while participating in sports
- Young athletes in need of nutrition guidance during injury recovery
- Children and adolescents showing signs of relative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S)
What Sets Children’s Apart?
Children’s offers specially trained pediatric registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) to help our young patients with their nutritional needs.
An RDN is a nutrition expert who completed an educational program with strict educational standards. A pediatric registered dietitian nutritionist is an RDN with extensive training and experience working with infants, toddlers, children and adolescents.
All our pediatric RDNs have obtained the following credentials:
- A bachelor’s degree in nutrition (in 2024, the requirement changes to a master’s degree)
- Internship with documented supervised practice
- Board certification
- Continuing education of 75 hours every five years
At Children’s, our patients receive medical nutrition therapy only from RDNs who are licensed to practice in the state of Nebraska.
Our Specialists
Our specialists stand out for their exceptional skills and dedication to excellence, ensuring the highest standards of care. Their commitment to providing top-quality service sets them apart as the best in their field. Learn more about our pediatric outpatient clinical nutrition specialist through the link below:
Locations
Our pediatric clinical nutrition specialist sees patients and families in person at our Cass West location, as well as online.
Children’s Nebraska Specialty Pediatric Clinic – Cass West is located at 8552 Cass Street in Omaha.
If you require a virtual appointment, or just prefer to speak to a dietitian from the safety and comfort of your own home, we offer telehealth appointments through Children’s Connect, our online HIPPA-compliant platform.
Next Steps
If your child has special nutritional needs, talk to your pediatrician, primary care provider or other specialist for a referral to Children’s Outpatient Dietitian Services.
How to Get a Referral
You must get a referral from your child’s doctor. The doctor will complete the referral form.
Your child’s primary care provider can send a referral to Children’s Outpatient Dietitian Services using one of the following methods:
- Place an electronic referral order in the Children’s Connect Health Portal for “Outpatient Dietitian”. This order will be sent directly to our scheduling team. The scheduling team will then contact you for an appointment.
- Complete a referral form by hand and fax it to our scheduling office at 402.955.6445.
If you did not receive a call to schedule your appointment, you can call our office at 402.955.3838 and press option 1 for scheduling.
What To Expect During Your Visit
Once your referral is received and your appointment is made, here’s what you can expect during your first visit:
- Initial check-in (be sure to have your insurance card, photo ID and copayment)
- Body measurements (height, weight, head circumference and BMI or skinfold thickness)
- Nutrition-focused physical exam (NFPE)
- Review of questionnaire and nutritional assessment (which you will have completed before visit)
- Discussion about nutrition goals
- Nutrition education and resources
- Interventions and actions to take
- Follow-up plan
- Summary sent to referring doctor or APP
If you need to reschedule an appointment, please call the Clinical Dietitian office at 402.955.3838.