Gina Keatley, America’s Culinary Dietitian Nominated for International REAL Award

Nov. 11, 2013 - PRLog -- Announced today Gina Keatley, CDN, has received a notification for The REAL Awards, a first-of-its-kind global awards program designed to develop greater respect and appreciation for health workers and the lifesaving care they provide globally, as well as in the United States. The REAL Awards is made possible by the support of presenting sponsors Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Medtronic Foundation, The Merck Company Foundation, and Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare, and supporting partners GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Time Inc.

“I am excited and honored to be nominated among such an elite group.” Gina Keatley said, “I am amazed by the health care workers in this category that have achieved so much and made an impact globally.” Gina Keatley is a chef, nutritionist and television host. She is recognized for her food-focused television shows, cookbook and her campaign for the use of fresh foods in low-income areas and as an American Diabetes Ambassador. She is the founder of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy. She has been recognized for her charity nutritional work, being named a CNN Hero and L’Oreal Woman of Worth. Additionally, The Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, American Culinary Federation and The James Beard Foundation have recognized Gina for her culinary and humanitarian impact.  In 2013, Gina Keatley was honored with The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition Community Leadership Award.

By some estimates, the world is short more than 5 million health workers, including one million frontline health workers. This shortage of easily accessible health workers is acute for rural settings in both developing countries and in the U.S. Frontline health workers are often community health workers and midwives who provide access to healthcare locally or in the home, although they can also include local pharmacists, nurses and doctors. In the developing world, where well-equipped doctors and hospitals are scarce, frontline health workers are the first and often only point of contact to the health care system for millions of people.

It is estimated that every 3 seconds, a child's death is prevented thanks to care provided by a frontline health worker. But many don't have all the support and supplies that they need to do their jobs well, and hundreds of thousands more are needed to end preventable deaths and to tackle the challenges of chronic diseases that need to be managed regularly.

The public can read the inspirational stories of the international REAL Awards honorees at www.theREALawards.com. Winners will be announced the week of January 13, 2013 during a time when much of the American public is tuning in to traditional entertainment awards shows such as the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.