(FoodRx Innovations panelists from left to right): Holly Freishstat, senior director, feeding change, Milken Institute; Kathryn McKenzie, divisional vice president, global citizenship and sustainability, Abbott, and vice president, Abbott Fund; Sara Roszak, NACDS’ senior vice president of health and wellness strategy and policy; NACDS Past Chair Colleen Lindholz, president, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co.; and Robert Graham, co-founder, Fresh Medicine and chief health officer, Performance Kitchen
NACDS and the “NACDS 2023” Initiative for health and wellness were highly visible at the 2023 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit, which took place November 6-8 in Washington, DC.
The Future of Health Summit brought together more than 200 speakers to foster innovative solutions to some of the most pressing healthcare issues facing the nation — such as chronic disease, food access and sustainability, health equity, and mental health. NACDS proudly served as a 2023 sponsor of the three-day event.
On Wednesday, November 8, NACDS and NACDS-member retailer and supplier representatives participated in a panel discussion at the Future of Health Summit titled, “FoodRx Innovations: Financing, Technology, and Stakeholder Relationships.”
During the discussion, NACDS Board Member and Past Chair Colleen Lindholz, president, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co., and NACDS’ Senior Vice President of Health and Wellness Strategy and Policy, Sara Roszak, explored the role of the pharmacy in implementing “food is medicine” interventions, such as food prescriptions, and emphasized NACDS’ commitment to health and wellness innovation through the “NACDS 2023” Initiative. The “NACDS 2023” Initiative brings a “Pharmacy Plus” approach that leverages the total store for the total person.
As part of “NACDS 2023,” NACDS is partnering with the prestigious Milken Institute to make food prescriptions a reality for patients in the pharmacy and at retail. This collaboration evolved out of the Association’s participation in the September 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.
Roszak also described “Nourish My Health,” a national public health education campaign that was launched by NACDS on the one-year anniversary of the White House Conference on September 28 alongside the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association ®, the American Heart Association, and the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University.
NOTABLE QUOTES:
NACDS Past Chair Colleen Lindholz, president, Kroger Health, The Kroger Co.
“We have this opportunity to build relationships with customers inside of our stores. That’s where the patient journey comes into play and that’s where we believe in an interdisciplinary team approach to taking care of people … The [patient journey is all about] getting the patient to the right person at the right time.” – Colleen Lindholz
Sara Roszak, NACDS’ senior vice president of health and wellness strategy and policy
“Pharmacists have a huge role to play in the [patient journey] … Thirty-seven million Americans have diabetes, but close to 100 million are living with pre-diabetes and may not know that. The pharmacy is a great place for someone to identify that they have an issue, and then the pharmacist is right there to support them.”
– Sara Roszak
