At Ohio State, we provide the highest quality nutritional dietary counseling through our expert team of registered dietitians, nutritionists, chefs and more. It’s never too late to start eating healthier – whether you want to lose weight, your doctor has recommended a dietary change or you just want to eat healthier! Meet and learn more about our team of experts in nutrition and dietary services.

Get to know our team

Julie Meddles

Julie Meddles, MS, RDN, LD

During Julie’s 24 years at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, she has fulfilled many roles; as a dietitian, operations manager, and now Director of Nutrition Services. She recently added the profitable Gift Shops to her responsibilities. Julie began her career in practice as an oncology clinical dietitian. As Director of Nutrition Services for the OSUWMC health system, her department administers quality nutrition care and food service operations for patients, staff, students, visitors and the communities they serve. Julie is a certified facilitator who enjoys working with staff to develop their leadership, communication and interpersonal skills. She embraces change leadership and enjoys being an advocate for staff and patients.

Julie has served in many leadership positions in professional organizations during her career. Volunteer leadership, locally and nationally, with the Academy and it practice groups, Association for Healthcare Foodservice (AHF), International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) and Vizient has been some of the best opportunities to both contribute and grow in her career. Currently Julie serves as Board of Director for AHF, Immediate Past Chair of IFMA’s Healthcare Food Service Leadership Council, Past Chair and member of AHF Benchmarking Committee, Treasurer for Management of Food and Nutrition Systems DPG, and member of Vizient Food Contracting Council.

David Brue

David Brue

David Brue has been intertwined with food professionally since starting in the restaurant industry at the age of 16 and he earned his degree in Culinary Arts from Columbus Culinary Institute in 2011. As the Associate Director of Culinary Outreach and the Executive Chef for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, he is deeply passionate about giving every patient, staff member, and visitor a world-class experience whenever they dine at any of the department’s many inpatient or outpatient locations. Named one of Food Service Magazine’s “30 under 30ish” up and coming chefs in 2015, David has worked all over the country implementing creative and unique ways to operate large scale operations. In 2021, Dave won the Association for Healthcare Foodservice’s National Culinary Competition Gold Medal; he is serving as the 2023 Chair for the Culinary Competition Committee.

David believes in the goodness of food, both in nutrition and taste, and has been with the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center for the past 11 years. He is also a substantial proponent for the chef-dietitian partnership, believing truly that food is medicine.

Jennifer Geruntino

Jennifer Geruntino MS,RD,LD

Jenny has been a Registered Dietitian for over 10 years and is currently an Associate Director of Hospital Dietetics for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center where she oversees patient food service operations. She holds a Bachelor’s in Human Ecology from The Ohio State University and completed her Master’s and internship at the University of Kentucky. Prior to working as an Assistant, and eventually an Associate Director, Jenny started her career in dietetics as a student Nutrition Aide while she was an undergraduate.

Jenny is an active member of the Association for Healthcare Foodservice. In her spare time, Jenny enjoys cooking, baking, and thinking about food. She has three small children at home, so between work and home there are always plenty of reasons to think about meals. Jenny is passionate about caring for patients – she believes it is truly an honor to serve others and to play a small role in their healing process..

Amy Patton

Amy Patton MHI, RD, CNSC, LSSGB

Amy has been a Registered Dietitian for over 20 years and is currently an Associate Director of Hospital Dietetics for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. She oversees various teams of ambulatory and inpatient dietitians along with some departmental quality improvement initiatives. In 2021 she completed her Masters in Healthcare Innovation degree at The Ohio State University. She has been board certified in nutrition support since 2007 and completed her Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification in 2024 . Amy has a passion for food and has been a speaker at both local and national conferences on various food and nutrition topics.

10 Tips for Hosting a Healthier Tailgate Party

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Posted: Sept. 20, 2024

Tailgate parties are notorious for their vast selection of tasty meats, salty chips, and alcoholic beverages. With all the food temptation and excitement for the upcoming football game, it can be tough to make healthy choices. Check out 10 tips below for ways enjoy your Fall tailgates while keeping your waistline in check.

  1. Don’t skip breakfast! You’ll be less likely to over-indulge later, and it will keep your energy levels up for a long day ahead.
  2. Pack a football, Frisbee, or corn hole to stay active. Packing these activities will not only help to keep you entertained, but will add some extra activity into your busy day.
  3. Offer fresh fruits and vegetables: Pre-slice your veggies and fruit to save time on game day or purchase a fruit/veggie tray. Fresh fruit salads are also a great option for a healthy dessert.
  4. Offer water in addition to high calorie favorites: you can put out bottles of water or make a pitcher of fruit and herb infused water (like lemon and lime or strawberry and basil) for people to enjoy.
  5. Choose leaner proteins: offer lower fat choices of meat, such as chicken, turkey, shrimp, or 90/10 ground beef. Offer nuts, peanut butter, hummus, or edamame for snacks.
  6. Watch your meat cooking on the grill – charring meat produces carcinogens that can be dangerous for your health. Use a meat thermometer to know when your meats are perfectly cooked!
  7. Consider making a few healthy ingredient substitutions: bring whole wheat buns for extra fiber and nutrition. Use plain, non-fat Greek yogurt as a substitute for mayonnaise, sour cream, or cream cheese in recipes. Applesauce can be used in place of sugar, honey or oil for baked goods. Use reduced-fat cheese in place of regular cheese in recipes.
  8. Eliminate salt added just for seasoning: the majority of the ingredients we use are high in sodium already, so avoiding adding more salt often won’t affect the final taste of your item.
  9. Double the veggies in casserole and pasta dishes: when making items like pasta salad, double the amount of vegetables you typically use. You can then cut back on other items, like pasta, rice or bread. This will decrease calories and add nutritional value to the dish.
  10. Serve dishes in pre-portioned serving cups instead of large plates or dishes: this helps to keep portion sizes in check – and they are sure to be a crowd-pleaser for cute presentation!

The Inaugural Allied Health Innovation Conference

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Congratulations to Jillian Frye on her best poster award & Thank you Sheela Thomas who was Jill's advisor on it.
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Nutrition Services annual clinical competency day

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Malnutrition awareness week

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September 16-20, 2024

The Ohio State University is an official ambassador of ASPEN Malnutrition Awareness Week TM Malnutrition Awareness Week TM is a mark of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN). Used with permission from ASPEN.

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