Human Milk and Formula Technician

UNC Health•Chapel Hill, NC

12d•Onsite

About The Position

The Human Milk and Formula Technician works in the Human Milk and Specialty Formula Room, preparing infant feedings for the Children’s Hospital, primarily for patients in the Newborn Critical Care Center (NCCC). The role uses specialized formulas, fortifiers, donor human milk, and maternal human milk. It serves as a liaison between Pediatric Dietitians and Children’s Hospital Nursing. The technician translates feeding orders from the electronic medical record into appropriate recipes, prepares and dispenses feedings, and delivers formulas to units within the Children’s Hospital. The position works an overnight schedule and includes rotating weekends and holidays. It is a full-time, onsite role with 40 standard hours per week.

Requirements

Associate’s degree in Nutrition or a related field, or equivalent.
With an Associate’s degree in Nutrition or a related field, no prior experience is required.
With an Associate’s degree in an unrelated field, two years of nutrition, food service, or quality-safety experience are required.
With a high school diploma, four years of nutrition, food service, or quality-safety experience are required.
Basic math skills, including accurately weighing ingredients with a gram scale and calculating, measuring, and mixing human milk and infant formula with fortifiers.
Ability to use fingers, hands, and arms to measure, mix, and store prepared human milk and formula.
Strong critical-thinking skills and ability to learn new tasks in a fast-paced environment.
Ability to communicate professionally and effectively by phone and in person.
Ability to work independently, organize and prioritize work, and make decisions consistent with hospital policy and organizational culture.

Responsibilities

Translate feeding orders in EPIC into established recipes and clarify unclear orders with nursing, dietitians, and providers.
Use mathematical calculations to adjust recipe volumes and measure the required fortification ingredients.
Fortify infant formula and human milk accurately, following sanitation procedures to prevent contamination.
Document milk type and receipt, feeding preparation, milk dispensed or discarded, and formula preparation in the clinical flowsheet in EPIC.
Dispense human milk and formula following barcode-scanning procedures.
Scan feedings, monitor inventory, help maintain par levels of Prolacta and donor milk, and maintain accurate inventory of frozen and thawed maternal and donor milk.
Review milk and feeding-syringe inventory daily to ensure items are correctly filed and labeled.
Maintain appropriate refrigerator and freezer temperatures, follow human-milk thawing procedures, and monitor expiration dates to determine when products should be used or discarded.
Update and maintain patient feeding orders and recipe orders daily in patient notebooks.
Report handling or formula errors, good catches, workflow or safety problems, and recommend operational improvements.
Participate in efforts to improve the efficiency, safety, and quality of the Human Milk and Specialty Formula Room.
Collaborate with Nursing during admissions, transfers, and discharges to deliver feeding products and human milk to the appropriate location.
Collaborate with Lactation Services to inventory and procure donor human milk from the Human Milk Bank.
Collaborate with Genetics Services on recipe development and preparation of metabolic formulas for Children’s Hospital patients.
Collaborate with NCCC dietitians on recipe development and preparation of human milk and formula orders, including feeding advancement and progression.
Participate in training and onboarding new personnel.
Follow policies and procedures to comply with regulatory and infection-control standards.
Demonstrate flexibility and professionalism and work effectively amid multiple, rapidly changing priorities.