Meet Our Team - Rachel Allard
Meet Rachel Allard, RD LD
Regional Clinical Support Manger
Everyone loves food. Who doesn’t? But perhaps our very own Rachel Allard is the true connoisseur — and she’s made it her life’s work to put that passion for nutritious and delicious edibles to good use.
Since she was a young girl growing up in the small-town town of Troy, Illinois, Rachel’s hobby included everything from eagerly trying foods she’d never eaten before to cooking and carefully reading and studying food labels. Naturally, she saw herself working in the culinary arts someday as maybe a baker or chef, but then the thought hit her — what if she could do something with food that made a real difference in people’s lives?
“I got a culinary scholarship at one point but decided, ‘I’m going to go with dietetics and see how it goes,’” Rachel said. “There is so much to know about food. It’s hard for some people to grasp the central idea of their diet and other things.”
The rest, as they say, is history. Rachel has carved out quite the career over the past two years as a Regional Clinical Support Manager for Health Technologies. As part of her job, she provides support in the clinical and food service areas. She also works closely with consulting dietitians across the Midwest. She routinely partners with dining managers and nursing directors to provide expert clinical consulting, innovative menu solutions, and hands-on training support.
Whenever she gets to a facility each morning, she checks to see if they have any meetings set up for her with residents for diet education or any nursing concerns. From there, her day could be filled with anything from care planning to scouring through medical records, meeting with the dining manager or nurses, and doing meal observations.
She attended Southeast Missouri State University, earning her Bachelor’s of Science in Dietetics. Before coming to Health Technologies, she enjoyed stops as a nutrition counselor and working part-time in a hospital setting.
She says working for Health Technologies, a company she once interned for in college, is a dream come true.
“What really drew me to this company is the amount of stuff dietitians get to do every day,” Rachel said. “They get to be involved with so many people; one day, they may be at a nursing home, and the next, they are at a hospital or mental health facility. That’s what drew me to it. Plus, it’s a great company and a good place to plant my roots. They really do care about their employees, and it’s such a good feeling to know that if I need help or have questions, I can talk to anyone.”
She added, “They want us to thrive in the areas that we are the best fit for.”
When Rachel isn’t working or surrounding herself with all things food, she enjoys spending time with her fiancé, Dave. Both are avid travelers and are planning a trip to Peru once things settle down with the COVID-19 pandemic. Rachel also loves reading a good book, hiking, reciting popular movie quotes, and lounging around with her two cats and dog.