Recently, I was reading an account of a successful endeavor to fight malnutrition in the young children of a small African village. It was an interesting comparison of a few children that received the same nutrients as a majority of the children in the same village, but were growing healthier and stronger in comparison.

After careful observation, it was realized that the mothers of these children simply had a different delivery method than the mothers of the more malnourished children.

The mothers of the healthier children fed them smaller increments of food more frequently, four times a day rather than twice. These children’s bodies were able to digest the small portions of food at much higher levels than those children receiving larger portions delivered to them twice a day; therefore, they were receiving more nutrients from the same amount of resources.

Is there a parallel with this story and our malnourished healthcare system that has to offer faster, better, and cheaper healthcare to its patients? Can the solution be as simple as that with the malnourished children of an African village? Is the key to the solution in the delivery?

Should we be investing in wellness centers that are strategic in their methods of educating patients with clear directives on changing the way they live rather than caring defensively?