What are the responsibilities and job description for the Patient Dining Associate position at Hospital for Special Care?
Position Location: Hospital for Special Care Scheduled Weekly Hours: 24 Work Shift: First Shift Department: Food and Nutrician We are dedicated to creating an environment of care and engagement that makes us one of the most desirable places to work, providing exceptional care to each patient each and every day! Job Summary Patient Dining Associates work on assigned units in a healthcare facility, and provide services that include helping patients make menu selections, assemble, deliver and pick-up their meal trays. They are part of the caregiving team, responsible for patient safety and satisfaction goals by making sure meals are accurate and delivered at the right time and temperature. Schedule Full time schedule: 6:00a to 2:30pm, 8:00a-4:30pm, 9:00am-5:30pm, 9:15a-5:45pm; days & times may vary. Rotating weekends are included. Qualifications Preferred: A.S. Degree or a graduate from an accredited dietetic technician program or a certificate from a technical/vocational program in Nutrition of food services. Four years of experience of food service in a healthcare setting and two years in a diet office setting. Required: Excellent customer service skills, professional phone etiquette and communication skills. Knowledge of nutrition, specialized therapeutic diets and food service operations in a healthcare setting. Essential Work Functions Demonstrates knowledge of therapeutic diets, age-specific nutritional needs, and diet modifications. Takes patients menu selections prior to meal service while complying with dietary restrictions on special, modified diets to ensure optimal food preferences are met within guidelines of diet order limitations. Responsible for maintaining accurate and current information for each patient on their assigned unit. Offers alternatives to menu as allowed on prescribed diet in accordance with diet order, food allergies, cultural, ethnic, and religious preferences when patient requests additional selections. Interacts with Nursing and Registered Dietitians to ensure patients’ diet prescriptions are accurate, and patients’ food needs are met. Communicates any patient related problems/concerns to appropriate personnel in a timely manner. Utilizes all required computerized reports at each meal to check tray tickets before the meal services starts. Makes corrections to tray tickets according to prescribed diet orders. Obtains daily report of patients receiving nourishments, tube feedings and supplements. May assist in assembling and/or delivering patients’ meals/snacks as needed. Assists with checking patient trays for accuracy. May act as Person in Charge opening or closing department. Completes patient meal rounding surveys to ensure patient satisfaction. Complies with federal, state and local health regulations, as well as department sanitation procedures. Completes other work assignments as needed to include food and formula preparation, trayline serving, snacks and/or desserts preparation. Supervises patient tray line and checks trays for accuracy. Demonstrates knowledge of food protection and applies appropriate hand hygiene techniques. Uses procedure that comply with regulatory standards for storing, processing, holding and serving foods. Physical Demands Ability to tolerate up to four hours of consecutive work. Position requires occasional periods of walking, standing and prolonged sitting. Occasional need to initiate body positional changes to access equipment, materials and files from high and low areas. Ability to lift or carry objects up to ten pounds continuously, twenty pounds frequently, fifty pounds occasionally. Ability to push/pull greater than sixty pounds is required occasionally. Fine manipulation is required for writing and computer usage, as well as for some types of patient care techniques. Intact vision needed for observation of tray line operation and observing meal tray and items served on tray line. Must be able to initiate and interpret communication with patient and others. Work Demands Inside, wet, humid, large temperature swings, noisy, odors, hazards, working around others, working in crowded space, quick response, flexible schedule including holidays and weekends. Cognitive Demands Job requires independent problem identification. Abstract reasoning and adaptability to new situations, changing environments and information and quick decision making are required. A high degree of selective attention, and/or concentration in the presence of noise/distraction is necessary. Job requires legibility, spelling and abbreviation accuracy, logical sentence/paragraph organization. A working knowledge and familiarity with professional/medical terms and definitions is required. Job requires a high level of communication skill including expression of abstract/complex ideas, use of negotiation and active listening and ability to dialogue with multiple parties. Job requires the ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide with all units of measure, and the ability to perform these operations with common and decimal fractions. To compute ratio, rate, percent and accurately use equations. Job requires an ability to comprehend abstractions and to make inferences. A working knowledge and familiarity with professional (e.g., medical) terms and definitions and ability to interpret lab values is required. At HFSC, we are a family. Each person who is a part of our team of 1,300 employees and volunteers offers unique talents and perspectives. We all believe in keeping the same shared value of making our patients the center of what we do. By combining all of our unique skills and shared values we are able to make a positive difference in the lives of our patients. We are dedicated to creating an environment of care and engagement that makes us one of the most desirable places to work. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and offer a competitive benefits package. Not finding the right fit? Let us know you're interested in a future opportunity by clicking Get Started below or create an account by clicking 'Sign In' at the top of the page to set up email alerts as new job postings become available that meet your interest!
