Introducing Christian Welborn, IHCRC Dietitian

Hello, Indian Health Care Resource Center of Tulsa! My name is Christian Welborn and I am the new dietitian working with the Office of Minority Health (OMH) Partnerships Active in Communities (PAC) to Achieve Health grant. That's a mouthful for a name for a grant, so the IHCRC Health and Wellness staff has named it the "Healthy Tulsa Pathways" project.

The overall goal of the Healthy Tulsa Pathways project is to improve the health and wellness of Tulsa's American Indian, African American and Hispanic/Latino communities by promoting exercise and the consumption of nutritious, traditional, culturally-based foods. The strong prevention focus of the project will encourage adult family members to support their children's adoption of healthy active lifestyles to reduce their lifetime risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

I am a Registered and Licensed Dietitian as well as a Certified Diabetes Educator. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, I earned a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences in May 2006.

Upon receiving my degree, I joined the Diabetes Team at the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (MCN), where I served as the Diabetes Dietitian at Koweta Indian Health facility. My responsibilities at MCN included educating patients about positive lifestyle modification and healthy eating. I taught program curriculum through group classes and individual consults, and I worked with other health care professionals to ensure optimal patient care. During my service at MCN for over four years, I developed a passion for helping people find their way to a healthier and happier lifestyle through behavior change and lifestyle modification.

As a firm believer that "small steps lead to big rewards" when it comes to health and longevity, I find it gratifying to aid others in that discovery. I am very excited to join the team at IHCRC, and I look forward to educating the patients and community members about the role of nutrition in a healthy lifestyle!