Cathy Lei, Mph, Rd, Cnsc
About Cathy Lei, Mph, Rd, Cnsc
Cathy Lei is a Neonatal Pediatric Dietitian with extensive experience in clinical nutrition, specializing in the care of high-risk infants. She has worked at various prestigious institutions and has contributed to the development of feeding protocols and nutrition initiatives for neonatal intensive care units.
Work at CommonSpirit Health
Cathy Lei currently serves as a Neonatal-Pediatric Dietitian at CommonSpirit Health, specifically at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, California. She has held this position since 2022. In her role, she provides specialized nutritional care for neonatal and pediatric patients. Cathy is actively involved in collecting, analyzing, and presenting NICU nutrition quality data to the Pediatric Committee. She also commenced the neonatal and pediatric malnutrition diagnosis initiative, enhancing the nutritional support provided to vulnerable patients.
Previous Experience in Clinical Dietetics
Cathy Lei has extensive experience in clinical dietetics. She worked at Dignity Health as a Clinical Dietitian from 2016 to 2022, focusing on patient nutrition at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton, California. Prior to that, she held positions at UC Davis Medical Center as a Clinical Dietitian from 2016 to 2019 and at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where she served as a Clinical Dietitian from 2011 to 2014 and as a Senior Dietitian from 2014 to 2016. Her diverse background includes providing nutrition in-services to NICU nurses and collaborating with pharmacy teams to improve neonatal nutrition protocols.
Educational Background and Qualifications
Cathy Lei has a strong educational foundation in nutrition and public health. She earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, studying from 2012 to 2015. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Clinical Nutrition at the University of California, Davis, from 2007 to 2009. Additionally, she studied Chemistry at City College of San Francisco from 2005 to 2007. Cathy also completed an Advanced Practice Residency in Nutritional Care for the High-Risk Infant at the Medical University of South Carolina in October 2018.
Contributions to Neonatal Nutrition
Cathy Lei has made significant contributions to neonatal nutrition through various initiatives. She developed and implemented standardized feeding protocols for very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight premature infants. Cathy authored a formal donor milk proposal and facilitated tissue bank licensing to support high-risk premature infants. She has also collaborated with pharmacy to revise the neonatal parenteral nutrition order writing form, ensuring that nutritional needs are met effectively for vulnerable populations.