Cook - Dietary Aide HCC

PruittHealth•Ashburn, GA

About The Position

The Cook prepares palatable, nutritionally sound meals in accordance with departmental policies and procedures and applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Meals must meet residents’ daily nutritional needs and special diet requirements and be served at the proper temperature and time. The Cook works with the Director of Food Service to allocate resources efficiently so residents receive food in the amount, type, consistency, and frequency needed to maintain acceptable body weight, nutritional values, and quality of life. The role also assists with food preparation and meal service, including following diet orders, preparing substitutions and nourishments, setting up and serving the tray line, and delivering trays. The Cook maintains food, equipment, and work areas; follows food-handling, sanitation, infection-control, and safety procedures; monitors and records food-storage and dishwashing temperatures; and helps supervise kitchen staff assisting with food preparation, tray assembly, cleaning, and supply storage. The position requires functional literacy and at least one year of institutional food service experience as a cook. Experience in long-term care food production is preferred. The role includes scheduled shifts, weekends, and holidays, and requires participation in mandatory in-services, continuing education, surveys, and other duties as directed by the supervisor.

Requirements

Sufficient education to demonstrate functional literacy.
At least one year of institutional food service experience as a cook.
Working knowledge of food handling, preparation, and storage techniques that comply with state and federal laws and regulations.
Ability to apply food-service regulations to cooking duties and to the supervision of staff assistants.
Ability to follow standardized recipes and established procedures.
Knowledge of facility emergency and disaster procedures and ability to understand and respond to written or oral emergency instructions.
Ability to arrive and begin work on time and report for scheduled duty on all shifts, weekends, and holidays.
Ability to follow workplace safety and infection-control procedures, including universal precautions, use of personal protective equipment, and handling hazardous materials.
Knowledge of equipment use, cleaning, and maintenance procedures.

Nice To Haves

Experience in long-term care food production.

Responsibilities

Assist with preparing meals, salads, desserts, snacks, and between-meal nourishments for patients and residents.
Follow diet orders and NPO diet orders.
Serve nourishments and follow procedures for serving partner meals.
Store leftovers and opened food properly.
Offer menu substitutions and record them according to procedural guidelines.
Follow infection-control policies in the work area and maintain sanitary food-preparation and storage areas.
Deliver trays to patients and residents in hallways and dining areas; assist with serving beverages and prepare coffee or tea as requested.
Clean dining tables after meals and clean work areas at the end of shifts and after meals, including sweeping and mopping.
Clean kitchen equipment and utensils, including carts, tables, counters, ice machines, blenders, mixers, meat slicers, freezers, refrigerators, stoves, steamers, garbage disposals, dish machines, coffee and tea makers, and steam tables.
Remove garbage from kitchen areas and hose out garbage containers.
Scrape and wash dishes, pots, and pans, and store them properly.
Record freezer and walk-in refrigerator temperatures according to established procedures.
Maintain dishwashers and dish sinks; check and record water temperatures, test dishwashers with sanitizer strips, and monitor and replace chemical levels as needed.
Maintain supply stock and store items according to established procedures.
Set up the tray line and perform tray-line service.
Operate dish machines, garbage disposals, mixers, blenders, meat slicers, steamers, and coffee and tea makers.
Use, clean, and maintain serving equipment according to established procedures.
Apply food-handling, preparation, and storage requirements in compliance with state and federal regulations.
Follow recipes and menu cycles prepared by the Dietitian and prepare attractive, nutritionally adequate meals in institutional quantities for service at proper times.
Assist in supervising kitchen staff who help with food preparation, tray assembly, cleaning, and supply and equipment storage.
Use food supplies and equipment efficiently and economically to prevent waste, and clean food-service work areas throughout preparation and service.
Prepare and maintain food substitutes for residents’ choices and cultural, ethnic, or religious preferences.
Inspect trays after meal service, monitor and record resident acceptance of menu items, and report findings to the Dietary Manager.
Use food-preparation equipment according to manufacturer instructions and follow cleaning and preventative-maintenance schedules.
Handle, store, and dispose of food supplies and prepared food according to department procedures and state and federal regulations.
Participate in center or agency surveys and required follow-up reports; assist with preparation for state inspections and attend survey training.
Attend continuing education and mandatory in-services as required.
Respect residents’ rights, dignity, individuality, privacy, property, and civil rights; handle resident and facility property honestly and with integrity.
Follow safety, fire-protection, smoking, infection-control, universal-precaution, personal-protective-equipment, and hazardous-material procedures.
Know facility emergency and disaster procedures, including how to locate the nearest exit and respond to emergency instructions.
Inspect food-service areas for pests, safety or fire hazards, and housekeeping or maintenance problems; correct or promptly report problems to the Dietary Manager.
Communicate with the Dietary Manager during the shift as needed, interact with state surveyors as instructed, and immediately report injuries to self or others.
Perform other related duties as necessary and as directed by the supervisor.