Nutrition Assistant - Food and Nutrition

Manchester Memorial Hospital•Vernon, CT

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Nutrition Assistant reports to the Clinical Nutrition Manager and performs patient-service tasks, providing a high level of customer service to patients. The role visits and assists inpatients with menu selections on assigned units, accommodates special diet and cultural or religious needs, and collects and processes menus. It provides meals appropriate to patients’ age, development, condition, and food preferences, and uses the Meditech computerized system for diet orders, admissions, transfers, discharges, snacks, and tube feedings. The Nutrition Assistant uses proper telephone etiquette, maintains knowledge of inpatient modified diets, corrects menus to comply with physician-prescribed diet orders and established guidelines, communicates patient concerns to dietetic and management staff, and provides care consistent with JCAHO standards. The role also participates in orientation and training for new employees, students, and volunteers. The Nutrition Assistant obtains menus for new admissions, ensures completed menus are available for inpatients for the following day, and keeps computerized diet census sheets and patient profile information legible, accurate, and current. This includes documenting patient and room details, diet orders, allergies, menu selections, snacks and supplements, and other pertinent nutritional information. Menus are reviewed and updated before meals, with hold trays and NPO patient menus organized for retrieval when diet orders or oral intake resume. Snacks and oral supplements are entered, removed, or reinstated in Meditech as diet orders change. The position completes grill, cold-specials, and add-on sheets before each meal and completes the daily meal census. It processes orders and changes for admissions, discharges, diet orders, and room changes, updating related records and menus. Additional duties include participating in customer service surveys and quality improvement tracking of NPO indicators, applying JCAHO standards and Connecticut State Department of Health regulations, attending monthly clinical in-services, and attending monthly department meetings.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent (GED).
Able to read, write, speak, and comprehend English.
Knowledge of nutritional structure and the differing needs of people within that structure.
Knowledge and proficiency in inpatient modified diets.
Ability to use the Meditech computerized system.
Excellent communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with Epic.

Responsibilities

Visit and assist inpatients with menu selections on assigned units, addressing special diet, cultural, religious, age-related, developmental, condition-related, and food-preference needs.
Collect and process menus, obtain menus for new admissions promptly, and ensure filled menus are available for all inpatients for the next day.
Use Meditech to manage diet orders, admissions, transfers, discharges, snacks, tube feedings, and related patient information.
Maintain accurate, current, neat, and legible diet census sheets, menus, and patient profile (kardex) sheets, including patient details, diet orders, allergies, menu selections, snacks, supplements, and pertinent nutritional information.
Review and update menus before each meal; organize hold trays and NPO patient menus for retrieval when diet status or oral intake resumes.
Enter, delete, and re-enter snacks and oral supplements in Meditech as patient diet orders change.
Complete grill, cold-specials, and add-on sheets before each meal and complete the daily meal census accurately.
Correct and modify menus to comply with physician-prescribed diet orders and established guidelines.
Implement and follow through on orders and changes for admissions, discharges, diet orders, and room changes across diet census sheets, menus, patient profiles, and Meditech records.
Communicate patient concerns to the Dietetic Technician, Dietitian, or Manager.
Provide customer service to patients and use proper telephone etiquette.
Participate in orientation and training of new employees, students, and volunteers.
Participate in customer service surveys and quality improvement tracking and documentation of NPO indicators.
Apply JCAHO standards and Connecticut State Department of Health regulations in providing patient care.
Participate in monthly clinical in-services and attend monthly department meetings.