Joanne Bak is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator with over 17 years of experience helping people to achieve their nutrition goals. She is a member of the College of Dietitians of Ontario and the Primary Care Dietitians’ Association. Before joining Summerville Family Health Team in 2014, Joanne worked as a dietitian in hospitals, cancer care, public health and private practice settings. Finding her niche in primary care, she pursues patient-centred care with passion and creativity. Joanne is a Licensed Craving Change Facilitator and Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified Coach. She strives to make complex nutrition concepts straightforward and easy to implement in both her individual counselling and group presentations so her patients are able to make meaningful and sustainable lifestyle changes. As a presenter, Joanne has extensive experience with various topics and audiences, many of which are geared towards people with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. In 2019, as part of an interdisciplinary research project, she developed and taught the nutrition component of a 2-day experiential diabetes education program for medical residents at Summerville Family Health Team.
Dietitians have had to rethink and adapt how they provide nutritional care and support to patients since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using her experience with the CHANGE program, a 12-month, intensive lifestyle intervention program offered by Summerville Family Health Team and Metabolic Syndrome Canada, Joanne will review the challenges facing patients and practitioners in transitioning from an in-person to a virtual format, and describe some creative methods for meeting patient needs.