In today’s blog post, we interviewed Linsey LaPlant, Sales Manager at Health-e Pro, given her fascinating career that has run the gamut within the food and nutrition industry. Here she details her varied experiences as someone who has both performed an Administrative Review, and one who has gone through an Administrative Review, while now offering software that makes the process both seamless and painless. Starting as a Dietitian at a CCRC in long-term care, to OSPI as a National School Lunch Program Specialist for Washington State, to Federal Way, a large district in Washington preparing 17,000 meals a day for their district, Linsey now works at Health-e Pro, which provides school menu planning and nutrient analysis software for school districts and management companies.
Health-e Pro: When you performed an Administrative Review, what did it entail?
Linsey: The state agency would do a nutrient analysis every time each school got reviewed, but the old nutrient analysis software was difficult and time-consuming, so while initially specialists were doing it, we started having consultants do the analysis. We did everything from ensuring compliance with the state and federal Child Nutrition Program regulations (NSLP, NSBP, ASSP, etc.), to providing technical assistance to local education agencies, which included record keeping, marketing, etc. We then wrote comprehensive analysis and reports of the program reviews.
I wanted to be fair: if there were findings or issues, I’d let them know and we’d figure out ways to resolve them. I wasn’t trying to make life harder for them; if there was something to fix, I’d help them make it better.
Health-e Pro: Now that you’ve been a Reviewer, what’s your advice to those going through a review?
Linsey: I always felt like those that asked a bunch of questions ahead of time did better, not being afraid of the reviewer. We were there to help them throughout the year, rather than just having contact with them during their review. Being as prepared as possible is good, and if you know that something isn’t right, don’t try to cover it up, because it almost always will be found.
It was always blatant with those that wanted to do it the right way, but didn’t know how. Some hadn’t gone through a review before and simply didn’t know what they needed to do. And then there were those that had the “know how” but still chose not to comply with regulations.
Check back next week to see what Linsey’s big takeaway is for those going through a review, what her experience was like when she was being reviewed after having been a reviewer!