Meet Priscilla Perez Schmid, our Registered Dietician!

Priscilla Perez Schmid, Swope Health’s Registered Dietitian, shows a sample plate with healthy food groups and portion sizes.

Priscilla Perez Schmid is a Registered Dietitian who has joined Swope Health with the goal of developing a new service to assist patients with their nutritional health.

Over time, she plans to build a team of registered dietitians who will perform clinical assessments and make recommendations for treatment of conditions that might be helped with nutrition. She and her team will then help patients set goals for their eating habits to support better overall health.

“Food is our first and most basic medicine,” says Priscilla. “What you eat determines, in part, how healthy you will be. I want to help everyone understand how to eat healthy for better well-being.”

Priscilla will also set up ways to measure the effectiveness of the program, including incorporating measures from patients in the program.

“Patients should know that my priority is establishing a collaborative relationship with them,” she said. “Patients are the leaders of their own health, and I am here to help them on their path toward sound health decisions.”

Nutrition and Dietary Education Needs

Swope Health providers refer patients to Priscilla to support their nutrition and dietary education needs. She regularly works with patients who have diabetes, obesity or high blood pressure, assisting them with healthy food choices to better manage and improve chronic health conditions. She also guides them to resources for selecting, purchasing and preparing healthy foods.

“After diverse cultural exposure, I am sensitive to people’s differences in opinions and values,” she said. “I respect individuality and prefer to work on shared goals.”

Priscilla’s Education and Training

Priscilla has earned the credential of Registered Dietitian (RD) from the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the credentialing agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health, with a specialty in Nutrition from Loma Linda University, and is licensed as a dietitian in Missouri and Kansas.

Before arriving at Swope Health, Priscilla worked as a clinical dietitian in acute and chronic healthcare at St. Mary’s Medical Center and DaVita Dialysis in Apple Valley, Calif. She grew up in west Puerto Rico, and after obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Biology, she moved to the Washington, D.C. area, where she was a post-baccalaureate research fellow at the National Institutes of Health.

Fluent in Spanish, Priscilla is still adjusting to the Kansas City environment and indulging her curiosity by exploring the region.

“I love how green it is out here in Kansas City,” she said. She also admitted to an immediate fondness for Kansas City barbecue—though in moderation!

When not working, Priscilla enjoys painting, playing jazz flute and practicing yoga. She lives in Kansas City with her husband (a psychology doctorate intern) and her two big dogs.