HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Meritus Health has introduced a new service to provide a fresh approach to better health: The Meritus Food Farmacy.

Eating healthy, fresh foods can dramatically improve a person’s overall health. That’s why primary care and specialist providers will begin prescribing healthy food based on medical diagnosis.

After the provider sends in a prescription, a Meritus Food Farmacy team member sets up an appointment for the patient to come to the kiosk in the Robinwood Professional Center atrium to pick up a pre-sorted bag of perishable and nonperishable food and recipes.

The bag of food, worth about $50 per week for 8 weeks or more, is free to patients with a prescription. They will also have access to weekly cooking demonstrations and one-to-one visits with a Registered Dietitian.

“At Meritus, we understand that food is more than just fuel, it’s medicine,” said Beth Fields Dowdell, DNP, CRNP, director of Community Health and Outpatient Care Management at Meritus Health. “The Food Farmacy is designed to support patients managing chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and more by prescribing nutritious, condition-specific foods as part of their treatment plan.”

Food insecurity is a major social determinant of health in Washington County. There are roughly 3,000 patients at Meritus who report concerns about food insecurity. About 1,200 patients have been documented with malnutrition.

Transportation and finances are factors in patients not having access to healthy food.

The goal of Meritus Food Farmacy includes improving access to healthy foods based on medical diagnosis, increased understanding of nutrition and the impact on the patient’s medical diagnosis, and improving health outcomes. Patients will be evaluated in follow-up visits with their primary care provider, or if they should be admitted to the hospital for other health-related reasons.

“But the hope is that providing access to healthy food will help reduce the number of admissions and readmissions,” Dowdell said.

The Farmacy kiosk will be open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. To learn more about the Meritus Food Farmacy, visit www.meritushealth.com/farmacy.

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Meritus Health, Western Maryland’s largest health care provider, is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The mission of Meritus Health is to improve the health of the region by providing the best healthcare, health services and medical education. As an anchor organization for the community, Meritus has 4,000 employees and serves more than 200,000 residents of the tristate region through Meritus Medical Center, Brook Lane Health Services, Meritus Medical Group, Meritus Home Health, Meritus Equipped for Life, and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. More information can be found at www.MeritusHealth.com or visit our Facebook page or LinkedIn page.