How to use smart dietitian hiring practices to drive results

Is there a demand for dietitians? Absolutely — just ask Pete McQuiston, CDM, the director leading dietitian hiring at Monument Health Rapid City Hospital. Amid a dietitian staffing shortage, he implemented a creative hiring solution that filled critical gaps and maximized ROI. 

“The reality is, the less lag time I have between dietitian vacancies, the more revenue I’m generating, the better the patients fare and the happier my client is,” Pete said. 

The Challenge: Large service area and a small candidate pool 

Monument Health is a 415-bed level 2 trauma hospital serving every community within a 6-hour radius of Rapid City, SD. Nine full-time dietitians support inpatient and outpatient nutrition services, including a $1.5M malnutrition program. 

When the dietitian team dropped to just two people covering the 400,000-square-mile area, Pete saw firsthand just how serious the demand for dietitians really was. There are only 250 actively practicing dietitians in South Dakota — that’s fewer than Puerto Rico, where RD programs are non-existent. 

“We are working with an incredibly small pool of candidates locally,” Pete said, noting that there is only one dietetic program in the region, and most people aren’t clamoring to move to South Dakota. Pete needed a nationwide dietitian hiring partner to broaden his search. 

The Solution: Partnering with Dietitians On Demand 

An ongoing contract agreement through the hospital’s parent company has allowed nineteen consultant dietitians to service Monument Health Rapid City Hospital since 2019. It was an easy decision to make the call again. 

“Any time I’m debating if I should make the investment in Dietitians On Demand, or if I want to try and fill the role myself, I initiate contact with DOD, and I never regret it,” Pete said. 

In addition to finding staff relief through Dietitians On Demand, Pete also found peace of mind. 

“By partnering with this company, it allowed me to fulfill my commitments to the client, and uphold my own credibility,” he said. 

The result: Meeting goals and growing services 

For Pete, fulfilling his commitment meant keeping vital nutrition programs running while ensuring the nutrition department remained profitable. With Dietitians On Demand’s support, Pete was able to: 

• Maintain a $1.5M revenue-generating malnutrition program 

• Establish an outpatient TPN service line 

• Streamline the hospital’s nutrition screening process 

With the support from consultant dietitians, Pete launched a brand-new outpatient TPN service line, which generated over $114K in revenue, plus the hospital’s $1.5M malnutrition program never slowed. 

“Dietitians On Demand is essentially critical to our success,” Pete said. 

Bonus: Temp-to-perm dietitian hired on as a manager 

Lyncoln Nardo, MS, RD, LD, CNSC worked as a consultant in a variety of roles for two years before landing at Monument Health Rapid City in 2024. She was watching for her next career move. 

“I instantly felt welcomed with the team when I got to Monument,” Lyncoln said. “I was not only offered a permanent position but was also welcomed as the new team manager!” 

Lyncoln attributes her success at Monument to the expertise she gained working as a consultant dietitian for Dietitians On Demand. Now, as a hiring manager herself, Lyncoln experiences DOD from the client side. 

“We use DOD to fill both our acute care and long-term care sites. Everyone [at DOD] is very responsive and prepared to send us great candidates,” Lyncoln said. “They have helped our sites stay fully staffed and contributed to optimal patient care and malnutrition revenue.” 

The bigger picture: Dietitians are in demand and hard to find 

While not traditionally seen as revenue drivers like physicians or surgeons, we’re here to prove the contributions of dietitians do lead to revenue for hospitals, and that skimping on dietitian coverage will financially impact a hospital in the long run. 

“My advice to other food service directors with dietitian vacancies? Make the call to Dietitians On Demand,” Pete said. “Don’t wait until it’s a crisis. The finances will work themselves out.” 

Need help with dietitian hiring to ensure your revenue streams stay on track? Work with the nationwide dietitian hiring experts – Dietitians On Demand.