Since the establishment of Zhongshan Hospital in 1937, it has been responsible for the preparation of inpatient meals by its nutrition department. In 1992, the Nutrition Department was officially established, implementing a system with a department head in charge and direct leadership under the hospital director. It operates as a medical and technical department. The current director is Wu Guohao, with Associate Directors Gao Jian (in charge of the work) and Jiang Lijing. The department strictly follows systematic, standardized, and standardized management, focusing on enhancing clinical nutrition treatment and research and teaching activities.
In the various hospital districts, the Nutrition Department currently consists of 28 medical nutrition professionals, including 7 party members, and has established its own branch within the department.
The Nutrition Department is responsible for nutrition risk screening, nutritional assessments, nutrition therapy, nutrition consultations, and nutritional education for all inpatients. The department provides various types of diets to nearly 2,000 patients daily. In addition to basic diets such as regular meals, it also offers therapeutic diets for conditions such as diabetes, low-protein diets, and potassium-sodium balance test meals. In recent years, the department has designed metabolic challenge meals, clinical pharmacology test meals, and clinical oncology test meals to meet the hospital's evolving needs.
In 2013, the Nutrition Department established a nutrition clinic and actively engages in public nutrition health education through various means. It closely collaborates with clinical departments, participates in diabetes education with the Endocrinology Department, and conducts nutrition Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) collaborations in areas like obesity and metabolic surgery with the Endocrinology Department, nutrition MDT for radiation therapy in the Oncology Department, participates in cardiac rehabilitation MDT, and contributes to the neuromuscular disease MDT in the Geriatrics Department, among other collaborative efforts. The department also conducts remote consultations.
The Nutrition Department also undertakes teaching and internship guidance for nursing and nutrition majors in many medical colleges and universities. In recent years, the department has hosted undergraduate and internship students, as well as numerous interns from abroad, with nearly 20 individuals on average each year. The department has conducted various research projects related to nutrition and metabolism.
In October 2013, the Nutrition Department engaged in academic exchanges with the Department of Nutrition at Karolinska Institute, Sweden, on "pre-meal research for diabetes." On April 25, 2014, the Nutrition Department hosted a visit from Aalborg University in Denmark as part of the Food4Growth project. Since 2012, Zhongshan Hospital has established a cooperative relationship with Fuyuan County People's Hospital in Yunnan, assisting in the establishment of their Nutrition Department. Starting in 2010, the Nutrition Department participated in the Changfeng research project led by the Endocrinology Department, with nutritionists visiting the Changfeng community in batches to conduct health surveys. Since 2004, the Nutrition Department has published papers in core nutrition journals like "Chinese Clinical Nutrition" and the "Journal of Nutrition." They have also been involved in a nationwide clinical nutrition study on "cost-effectiveness of enteral nutrition," organized by the International Life Sciences Institute, China Office. From 2013, the Nutrition Department started publishing papers in SCI-indexed journals, averaging 2 to 4 publications each year.
Starting in 2010, Associate Director Gao Jian of the Nutrition Department has actively participated in numerous health education programs on television. He has consistently hosted nutrition-related programs on the radio for many years and has become a well-known nutrition expert in Shanghai, highly regarded by the city's residents. In 2015, he was recognized as an "Outstanding Worker in the National Nutrition Industry" by the Chinese Nutrition Society. In 2010, Associate Director Gao Jian authored the popular science book "Eating Right for Good Health." In 2012, he co-authored two specialized books, "Theory and Practice of Clinical Nutrition Treatment" and "Nutrition and Diet." In 2015, Associate Director Gao Jian was appointed as a "Food and Drug Safety Popular Science Expert" by the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration. In 2015-2016, he served as the Deputy Chairman of the Youth Committee of the Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine Branch of the Shanghai Medical Association and the Deputy Chairman of the Nutrition and Supportive Treatment Branch of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association. In 2021, Associate Director Gao Jian published the popular science book "Achieving Heart Health in 28 Days: Localized Mediterranean Diet in China." In 2022, he published the popular science book "Optimizing Nutrition for Fighting Cancer."
In recent years, the Nutrition Department has been nurturing managerial talent to work in nutrition departments in other directly affiliated hospitals. These hospitals include the Xiamen Hospital district, Sheshan Hospital district, Geriatric Hospital, and the upcoming Qingpu New Town Hospital district. All these new departments have been established based on the standards set by the Shanghai Clinical Nutrition Quality Control Center, thereby contributing to the homogenization of advanced nutrition concepts in Shanghai.
