Dietary Cook FT Days

Kindred Healthcare•Palestine, TX

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Dietary Cook prepares and serves food for patients, employees, and special functions while following proper food-handling and safety techniques. Food must meet nutritional guidelines and safety standards established by department policies and procedures. The cook maintains a clean and safe work environment in accordance with established standards and regulations. The position involves preparing, portioning, and serving food according to standardized recipes, planned menus, patient diet orders, production sheets, and meal schedules. It includes properly receiving, labeling, dating, storing, and monitoring food and supplies; maintaining food and equipment safety; and performing cleaning and sanitation duties. When designated by a supervisor, the cook also performs menu-management tasks for patient trays. The role requires knowledge of therapeutic diets, texture and liquid modifications, safe food handling, and applicable food codes. The cook works cooperatively with hospital colleagues, communicates issues and improvement opportunities to the supervisor, and may lead the kitchen when assigned. Other related duties may be assigned.

Requirements

At least 1 year of experience in quantity food production in a hospital, nursing center, restaurant, hotel, or similar setting (required).
Prior experience with therapeutic diets (required).
Food Safety Certification from an accredited ANSI-CFP organization upon hire or within the facility-specified time frame (required).
High school diploma or equivalent, including education equivalent to completion of secondary school, or demonstrated ability to perform the essential functions of the role (preferred).
Knowledge of therapeutic diets and texture/liquid modifications.
Knowledge of safe food handling.
Knowledge of federal, state, and city food codes and regulations.
Knowledge of Kindred Nutrition & Culinary Services policies and procedures.
Skill in quantity cooking.
Ability to communicate effectively with patients and family members and at all levels of the organization, with excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills.
Ability to be accurate, concise, and detail-oriented.
Basic computer skills, working knowledge of Microsoft Office, and ability to learn a menu-management system.
Understanding of growth and development across the lifespan and ability to provide care appropriate for adult and geriatric patients, as appropriate to the patient population.
Must read, write, and speak fluent English.
Must have good and regular attendance.

Responsibilities

Prepare food according to department standardized recipes, planned menus, and policies and procedures.
Serve and portion food according to standardized recipes, planned menus, and policies and procedures, following patient diet orders when serving patients.
Follow standardized menus for patient and cafeteria food preparation; make only authorized menu changes and document them according to policy.
Use production sheets to guide food preparation and prepare food in time for established meal times.
Prepare and serve food at temperatures specified by the FDA Food Code, and ensure food served to patients is properly labeled.
Label, date, cool, and store food, including leftovers, according to established techniques and policies.
Take refrigerator and freezer temperatures twice daily, record them on the appropriate logs, and immediately report out-of-range temperatures to the supervisor.
Assist with receiving and storing incoming food and supplies and verifying invoices as directed by the supervisor or manager.
Maintain adequate food and supply levels and report inadequate stock to the supervisor or manager in a timely manner.
Use food supplies and equipment efficiently and economically to prevent waste.
Keep the work area clean and uncluttered; perform assigned cleaning using proper chemicals and infection-control techniques and protective equipment as needed.
Wash dishes, pots, and pans according to manual or automatic dishwashing procedures; check and record dish machine temperature or sanitizer concentration before each use and report problems promptly.
Store dishes, pots, and pans properly to prevent contamination.
Operate equipment according to manufacturer and supervisory direction; maintain it in clean and safe operating condition, use safety measures and guards, and promptly report equipment problems.
Maintain department security and perform duties using proper safety and sanitation techniques and appropriate PPE.
When designated by a supervisor, check medical records for new diet orders, discharges, and room changes before each meal tray-line assembly.
When designated, provide selective menus to patients and assist them with completion as needed.
When designated, use the computerized menu-management program to add admissions, update patient information, edit menus, enter selections, print menus or reports, and generate tray tickets.
Work cooperatively with coworkers across hospital departments and routinely communicate issues, concerns, and improvement opportunities to the immediate supervisor.
Assume kitchen leadership when assigned by the supervisor.
Participate in the hospital Performance Improvement program by collecting quality data when assigned.
Participate in the survey process and answer surveyor questions honestly.
Participate in corrective action plans as directed by the supervisor.
Perform other related duties as assigned.