For the City Times

Senator Patrick Testin Receives Award for Leadership on Senate Bill 385 (2017 WI Act 101)

MADISON — This month, the Wisconsin Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (WAND) presented Senator Patrick Testin (R – Stevens Point) with the WAND 2018 Legislator of the Year Award. The award was given to Sen. Testin in his Capitol office by WAND leadership last week.

Sen. Testin was named the 2018 WAND Legislator of the Year because of his leadership and advocacy on Senate Bill 385, which became 2017 Wisconsin Act 101 when it was signed into law on November 30, 2017. The bill changes Wisconsin statute to allow attending physicians to delegate prescribing of a nursing home resident’s therapeutic diet to a certified or licensed dietitian. The bill also allows attending physicians to delegate prescribing of a modified diet of a resident of a facility serving persons with developmental disabilities to a certified or licensed dietitian.

“Granting the Registered Dietitian authority to order necessary diet changes is a way to improve efficiency, reduce costs for the facility and expedite quality of life improvements for its residents,” said Christina Lemon, WAND President. “I want to thank Senator Testin for authoring this bill. We could not have done this without his passion and leadership.”

The Wisconsin Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (WAND) is a statewide organization consisting of nearly 1,600 nutrition professionals, primarily Registered Dietitians (RDs) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs), who work in a variety of employment settings including hospitals, clinics and long-term care, public health, education and research, food management and food processing, corporate wellness and private practice.