Fostering independence: Clinical enteral dietitian helps patients and families transition from hospital to home feeds

Patients who need tube feeding, and their caregivers, often need individualized support, care and education to navigate their tube feeding journey. IU Health’s registered dietitians with enteral nutrition serve as expert guides ensuring patients and caregivers feel comfortable, confident and educated administering tube feedings in their home setting.

“It is very rewarding to teach patients and families who may have been in a hospital setting for a very long time the tools and knowledge they need to confidently transition to tube feeding at home to meet their nutritional requirements,” says Ellen Weaver, senior clinical dietitian. “I love being able to work with a variety of people in different stages of life, from brand new NICU babies all the way up to elderly patients in their final stages of life. It is a very rewarding career for me.”

No two days look the same for Weaver. She’s present in hospital settings offering patients and caregivers hands-on education, provides education virtually with families as they adapt to tube feeding at-home, answers questions about tube feeding parts and pieces from patients and providers and proactively works with long-term patients to assess their tube feeding needs and adjustments. Her compassionate care helps her meet each patient and caregiver where they are at in their tube feeding journey.

“I try to tailor the way I educate to meet the needs of my various families in different settings,” says Weaver. “Sometimes, during an instruction session, I can sense a family or caregiver feeling overwhelmed about trying to do a tube feed at home. After our one-on-one, comprehensive and detailed session, they often leave feeling more confident than they thought would be possible and realize that they can do the feedings at home with just a few adjustments.”

Tube-fed patients receive one-on-one compassionate care and attention from a registered dietitian like Weaver.

“Our home‑care enteral registered dietitians are absolutely essential to delivering seamless, safe and compassionate transitions of care to home,” says Crystal Fossmeyer RD, clinical dietetics manager. “The work they do not only enhances patient confidence and safety—it directly improves outcomes. We simply could not provide high‑quality, sustainable enteral nutrition care without them.”