Nutrition Assistant (Dietary, per diem) - Food and Nutrition

Hartford Healthcare•Manchester, CT

About The Position

POSITION SUMMARY: The Nutrition Assistant reports to the Clinical Nutrition Manager and performs a variety of tasks related to patient service. Provide a high level of customer service and exhibits appropriate customer service skills to all patients. Visits and assists inpatients with menu selections on assigned units on a daily basis. Meets patients’ special diet and/or cultural/religious needs with regard to menu selections. Collects and processes menus for assigned areas. Provides appropriate meals based on age/development/condition/food preferences. Utilizes Meditech computerized system with regard to diet orders, admissions, transfers, discharges, snacks and tube feedings. Utilizes proper telephone etiquette when dealing with phone calls. Knowledge and proficiency in all modified diets that are provided to inpatients. Corrects inpatient menus to be in compliance with diet order prescribed by physician and follows established guidelines. Communicates patient concerns to the Dietetic Technician, Dietitian or Manager. Provides care within JCAHO standards to maximize the quality of inpatient care. Participates in the orientation and training of new employees, students and volunteers. We take great care of careers With locations around the state, Hartford HealthCare offers exciting opportunities for career development and growth. Here, you are part of an organization on the cutting edge – helping to bring new technologies, breakthrough treatments and community education to countless men, women and children. We know that a thriving organization starts with thriving colleagues-- we provide a competitive benefits program designed to ensure work/life balance. Every moment matters. And this is your moment . Work where every moment matters. Every day, over 40,000 Hartford HealthCare colleagues come to work with one thing in common\: Pride in what we do, knowing every moment matters here. We invite you to become part of Connecticut’s most comprehensive healthcare network as a Nutrition Assistant. The Greater Manchester Region has approximately 2,500 employees. It includes Manchester Memorial Hospital, a 249-bed community hospital, Rockville General, a campus of Manchester Memorial Hospital, a 102-bed facility, a large multispecialty provider group and visiting nurse services. The Greater Manchester Region serves a region of 300,000 people in 19 towns.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent (GED).
Must be able to read, write, speak and comprehend English.
Knowledge of nutritional structure and different classes of peoples needs within that structure.
Utilizes the Meditech computerized system.
Demonstrates excellent communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with Meditech preferred.

Responsibilities

Assists patients with menu selection as needed, concentrating on special needs, such as evidenced by notes on “Patient Profile”, write-in food items on menus, initiation of snacks and supplements. Incorporates religious and cultural beliefs into menu selection. Obtains menus for new admissions as soon as possible. At end of shift, filled menus are to be in for all inpatients, including those with a diet order of clear and full liquids for breakfast the next day.
Demonstrates ongoing updating of computerized diet census sheets with neat, legible, accurate and current patient information.
Demonstrates handwriting on menus is legible and menu items are circled neatly. This includes accurate room number, accurate patient name, accurate diet order and any write-in menu items.
Demonstrates that entire diet order (as it appears on the computerized diet census sheet) is written legibly and accurately on each of the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Correct menu color is utilized according to diet order. Food allergies are written in red at the top of each of the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus (allergic to …). Correct menu for the day of the week is utilized.
Demonstrates that the mandatory fields on the “Patient Profile” (kardex) sheet are filled out for each patient and that the information is current. The mandatory fields include patient’s name, room number, age, date of admission, dates/diet orders, menu selection – whether patient is able to circle own menu, food allergies (to be written in red), snacks/PO supplements and any pertinent information included in the “nutritional information” section of the sheet. Handwriting is legible. Information is current and accurate.
Demonstrates the review/update of menus prior to each meal and organizes “hold trays” and menus of “NPO” patients for retrieval when a patient’s diet order status and PO intake resumes. Uses the most recent available diet orders, room transfer, and admission and discharge information.
Demonstrates that all snacks/PO supplements ordered have been entered into the Meditech computerized system. Deletes snacks in Meditech when a patient’s diet order has been changed to NPO. Re-enters snacks in Meditech when a patient’s diet order is resumed after being NPO.
Completes grill sheet, cold specials sheet and add-on sheet prior to each meal and completes daily meal census. Counts are accurate based on the most recent available information and are neat and legible
Corrects and modifies inpatient menus to comply with diet order prescribed by the physician and utilizes established guidelines. Scores on inpatient menu audits are consistently above 90%.
Implements phone/computer orders for all new admissions, discharges, diet order changes or room changes. Follows-through with the new information with regard to diet census sheets, menus, patient profile and snacks/PO supplements in Meditech
Participates in and completes customer service surveys.
Participates in Quality Improvement by tracking/monitoring an NPO indicator. Documentation daily on the designated form of inpatients whose diet orders should have been NPO will be completed.
Knowledge and application of JCAHO standards and Connecticut State Department of Health regulations.
Participates in clinical monthly inservices.
Attends monthly department meetings.