Atlanta Pediatric Nutrition, Inc.

Meet the Dietitians

Bailey Koch, RD, CSP, LD, CNSD
President
Bailey started her career at Northside Hospital and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite with Pediatric Nutrition as her main interest.  While at Northside, she provided relief coverage to dietitian’s in all areas of the hospital including the 100 bed NICU.  At Scottish Rite, she gained experience with multiple facets of pediatric nutrition including, but not limited to, working with the AFLAC Cancer Center, Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units, Neonatal follow-up clinic and the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit.  In 2006 Bailey joined the Children's Center for Digestive Healthcare (CCDHC) team, providing nutrition counseling to patients and families.  While at CCDHC, she has developed an interest in helping children adjust to the Gluten Free diet after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  She has been a presenter on this topic to the Raising Our Celiac Kids (R.O.C.K.) support group.  In addition to Celiac Disease, Bailey enjoys working with children who have been diagnosed with Failure to Thrive, obesity, and food allergies.  She has been a presenter on neonatal and pediatric nutrition topics to multiple groups of medical professionals, including physicians, therapists, nurses and other dietitians. 

Bailey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition from the University of Mississippi and completed her dietetic internship at Emory University.  She is a Board Certified Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition and Nutrition Support. A member of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and the American Dietetic Association, she also served on the Greater Atlanta Dietetics Association Board as the State Professional Recruitment Coordinator. 

Outside of work, Bailey enjoys spending time with her husband Jason and their 2 dogs, spending time with friends, working out, shopping, and traveling.

Bryn Arata, RD, LD
Pediatric Registered Dietitian

Bryn received a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences from Pennsylvania State University. She went on to complete her dietetic internship at Long Island College Hospital, in Brooklyn, New York.


After graduating from her internship program, Bryn stayed at Long Island College Hospital as a staff dietitian where she explored many areas of nutrition, including surgery, cardiac disease, oncology, and pediatrics. When she started working closely with the cystic fibrosis team, she knew she wanted to focus on pediatric nutrition.

 
Bryn then took a position at New York- Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, in New York City where she continued to grow as a pediatric dietitian. She was responsible for all aspects of nutritional care of high-risk neonates in the intensive care setting. She also followed the nutritional status of discharged patients in the out-patient clinic. Other important aspects of her position were presenting nutrition lectures at pediatric and nursing conferences, and working closely with the medical staff advising on the nutritional status of her patients. Bryn received the hospital’s “Excellence in Teaching” award for her work instructing 32 dietetic interns each year. Additionally, Bryn received the “Employee of the Year” from the department at New York Presbyterian for her excellent performance.

 
At the same time, Bryn worked for the New York State Early Intervention Program where she evaluated children thought to be at high risk for malnutrition, and counseled a variety of patients with issues such as failure to thrive, feeding aversions, short bowel syndrome, food allergies, and metabolic disorders.


Bryn is currently a registered and licensed dietitian in the state of Georgia and a member of the American Dietetic Association. She is eligible for Board Certification in Pediatrics, which she plans to complete in 2010.

 

Bryn enjoys spending her free time with her husband, two children, and two dogs!

Jacy Pitts, MS, RD, CSP, LD
Pediatric Registered Dietitian

Jacy earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Nutrition from the University of Georgia.  She completed her Dietetic Internship there while enrolled in the Master’s program.  An internship rotation in School Nutrition segued into a part-time then later a full-time job in Elementary School Nutrition in Athens, GA.  At this position, Jacy developed a passion for working with special pediatric nutrition needs such as diabetes and food allergies.  She also enjoyed writing the monthly Nutrition News section that accompanied the school menus. 

Jacy then accepted an opportunity as a pediatric clinical dietitian at Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital in Atlanta, GA.  In addition to covering the Technology and Pediatric ICU’s and outpatient Pulmonary Clinics, she gained experience in a variety of other inpatient and outpatient settings.  She worked closely with many families that frequented the Technology ICU to manage their child’s nutrition regimen, which often included partial or full tube feedings.  Extensive clinical nutrition experience at Scottish Rite laid the foundation for Jacy to earn Board Certification in Pediatric Nutrition in 2007.  The following year, she began seeing patients at Atlanta Pediatric Nutrition.  Jacy enjoys working with all children who come to Atlanta Pediatric Nutrition, but especially has a heart for underweight infants/toddlers, high cholesterol, food allergies, and special nutrition needs of developmentally delayed children.    

Jacy is currently a registered and licensed dietitian in the state of Georgia, a member of the American Dietetic Association, and a member of the Pediatric Nutrition Practice Group.  Jacy enjoys writing short articles for local pediatric newsletters.  She is available to speak with groups and organizations on a variety of pediatric nutrition topics.  Beyond a primary interest in pediatrics, Jacy also has experience in adult oncology as well as brain & spinal cord injury/rehab.  She is a PRN Dietitian at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA.   

Outside of work, Jacy enjoys all things related to cooking: recipes and cookbooks, kitchen gadgets, cooking shows and food demos, etc.  She is also an avid reader.  Jacy feels that one of her greatest accomplishments in life thus far was breastfeeding her daughter for 13 months.   She lives in Smyrna, GA with her daughter and husband, Joey.

Jennifer Davis, MS, RD, CSP, LD
Pediatric Registered Dietitian

Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition from the University of Alabama.  She continued her studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she received a Master’s degree in clinical nutrition while completing a pediatric residency at Children’s Health System in Birmingham, AL.  Her thesis was on the efficacy of the pediatric weight management program through the hospital.

After completing her residency, Jennifer stayed on with Children’s where she was responsible for a wide variety of patient populations throughout her time there.  In her five years with Children’s she saw patients with renal issues on hemodialysis, type I and type II diabetes, a variety of cancer and hematology issues, HIV, infants in the neonatal intensive care unit, children diagnosed with failure to thrive, as well as patients in outpatient clinics needing diet education.

Jennifer moved to Atlanta after getting married.  In conjunction with her work at Atlanta Pediatric Nutrition she works at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite.  Jennifer has been responsible for the inpatient rehabilitation unit at CHOA.  Currently, her primary responsibility is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

In addition to being a registered and licensed dietitian in the state of Georgia, she is a Board Certified Specialist in Pediatrics. 

Wendy Palmer, MS, RD, LD, CHES
Pediatric Registered Dietitian

Wendy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health Education from Ithaca College in New York. She then decided to pursue dietetics and returned to school.  Wendy completed her dietetic internship and Master of Science in Health Care Policy and Management at Stony Brook University in New York. She began her career working as a program coordinator for a New York State Department of Health grant partnering with schools to reduce childhood obesity and prevent cardiovascular disease. In addition to this she also ran weight management classes for adults and children and was a founding member of the “Play Fit Stay Fit” program for childhood cancer survivors.  Wendy has also provided private consulting for restaurants and organic eateries and nutrition counseling for sports specific training. She currently maintains a part time job at a regional medical center as a community health dietitian working with adults and children for health, wellness and obesity prevention and a part time job with Atlanta Pediatric Nutrition.  Wendy has over 5 years of experience in pediatric nutrition in a variety of settings.  

Wendy is a diagnosed celiac and follows a gluten and soy free diet and is very familiar with the challenges of having a food allergy. She is passionate about obesity prevention, weight management and behavioral therapies to promote healthier lifestyles for all families. Wendy has an added interest in early nutrition and feeding practices as well as the impact of diet on autoimmunity, inflammation and chronic disease.

Wendy is currently a registered and licensed dietitian in the state of Georgia, a Certified Health Education Specialist and eligible for Board Certification in Pediatrics.  

Why we do what we do?
We believe...

  • That nutrition is an integral part of a child's growth and development.
  • Poor diet is an increasing epidemic affecting today's society.
  • There are a lot of medical issues that can be managed through diet.
  • Pediatric nutrition is vastly different from adult nutrition.  It is important for a dietitian working with kids to have a pediatric background in order to be effective.

Copyright . Bailey Koch, RD, CSP, LD, CNSD. All rights reserved.