Presented by Claire Reinking, MS, and Megan Hardy, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN, of the Army Special Operations Unit, 7th Special Forces Group Airborne 7SFG(A).
Maximizing the impact of nutrition services in high-stakes environments like the Army Special Operations Unit, 7th Special Forces Group 7SFG(A), requires innovative solutions tailored to unique challenges.
This case study, presented by Claire Reinking, MS, and Megan Hardy, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN, delves into the strategic enhancement of communication and nutrition onboarding processes within 7SFG(A). By leveraging technology and refining the existing Teamworks Nutrition auto-onboarding system, this project aimed to:
● Streamline administrative workloads for dietitians
● Provide immediate nutrition support for service members
● Improve overall accessibility to nutrition services
“Teamworks Nutrition is ultimately a force multiplier when it comes to saving your performance dietitian a ton of time with the amount they can give their service members versus what they can provide without a technology enabler. With a large ratio of service members to a dietitian, Teamworks Nutrition solves the ability to scale nutrition and support services.”
Megan Hard, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN
Case Study Overview
This project occurred within an Army Special Operations Unit, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) 7SFG(A), and improved access to nutrition services for the service members on post by systematizing a Teamworks Nutrition auto-onboarding process.
Case Study Goal
This project aimed to increase nutrition accessibility across 7SFG(A) by systematizing an existing Teamworks Nutrition auto-onboarding process and modifying it to be specific to 7SFG(A). Systematizing this process would streamline the administrative workload for the full-time dietitians, allow the service members more opportunities for nutrition aid by leveraging technology to get immediate nutrition support, and modify the current system for service members to connect with their respective dietitians.
Problem Scenario
In 2023, a Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) dietitian started at 7SFG(A), where previously, there was one performance dietitian to approximately 2500 service members. The increase in nutrition support was necessary, but it led to confusion among service members about which dietitian to contact. This confusion underscored the need for a solution. Teamworks Nutrition, an application connecting dietitians with service members, allows them to log their food intake. However, the product was not utilized and was widely known on post.
Professional Assessment
With the growth of nutrition providers and services, re-education of the Special Forces formation on nutrition services across the post was needed, and a new system was necessary. Teamworks Nutrition, already established on the post, provided a template that supplied a more straightforward solution for creating accounts for service members. From this template, a system could be designed specifically for 7SFG(A) that provided education on which dietitian to reach out to, how to contact them, and how to set up a Teamworks Nutrition account with meal plan options. The nutrition team then discussed what information to include on instruction sheets to help inform service members.
Putting a New Plan In Place
The execution of this project included:
● Tailoring the Teamworks Nutrition template to 7SFG(A)
● Streamlining communication among the nutrition team
● Creating a QR code for individuals to scan on their phone to auto-onboard to Teamworks Nutrition
● Producing meal templates
● Creating instruction sheets for SMs to learn about nutrition services and how to connect with their dietitian
The instruction sheets also contain the Teamworks Nutrition auto-onboarding process and the Performance Dietitians’ contact information so individuals can create an account and log in before meeting with their dietitians. From there, the instruction sheets are distributed through the established network across the post and placed on the tables at the dining facility.
Outcome
The Teamworks Nutrition QR code makes the auto-onboarding process more efficient for service members and increases communication among the nutrition team.
The instruction sheets are on every table in the dining facility, which serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. Over time, the instruction sheets have increased awareness of the nutrition services, resulting in more requests for nutrition consults and an increase in Teamworks Nutrition sign-ups.
Another outcome of this project is increased efficiency for Performance Dietitians when onboarding multiple service members to Teamworks Nutrition during group-based education.
During this case study (August 23—May 24), Claire and Megan onboarded 238 service members to the Teamworks Nutrition product. This marked a 43% increase in service members on the platform since the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) started using Teamworks Nutrition on September 21.
“Ultimately, Teamworks Nutrition helps us increase our reach. Who we can support is not only expanded by the use of technology, but also the breadth of information and education is available and updated in real-time in the palm of their hands,” said Hardy.
To learn more about Teamworks Nutrition or schedule a demo, contact a tactical sales representative.