nutrition care assistant

WVU Medicine

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Nutrition Care Assistant provides direct patient meal service by obtaining meal selections in person or through the hospitality center ordering system, delivering meals, and retrieving meal trays. The position requires knowledge of special diets and allergies, attention to patient safety, and excellent customer service. The assistant also maintains cleanliness of nutrition centers in patient care areas. The role involves handling patient menu requests and dietary restrictions, communicating with patients, nursing staff, dietitians, and food-service personnel, and supporting meal-service and kitchen operations as needed. The employee must hold a valid Monongalia County Health Department Food Service Worker Permit throughout employment. A temporary permit may be obtained by the first Wednesday of employment, with a permanent permit required within one month of the start date. Until a temporary permit is obtained, the employee may not handle exposed food or food-contact surfaces, equipment, or utensils, but may be trained on tray delivery and complete general department orientation. The shift varies but is predominantly 5:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The position includes rotating weekends and holidays and is scheduled for 8 hours weekly. Work involves patient interaction, entry into isolation-precaution rooms with appropriate protective equipment, and a kitchen environment that is often noisy. Physical demands include standing for most of the workday and pushing a fully loaded tray cart of approximately 250 pounds.

Requirements

Obtain and maintain a valid Monongalia County Health Department Food Service Worker Permit (FSWP) throughout employment. A temporary MCHD FSWP must be obtained no later than the first Wednesday of employment, and a permanent MCHD FSWP must be obtained within one month of the start date at the next available class.
Until a temporary FSWP is obtained, do not handle exposed food or food-contact surfaces, equipment, or utensils; tray-delivery training and general department orientation are permitted.
Ability to understand written and oral communication.
Ability to push a fully loaded tray cart weighing approximately 250 pounds.
Ability to stand for most of the working day.

Nice To Haves

High school diploma or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Answer patient phone calls in accordance with customer service standards.
Follow patients’ diet restrictions, including allergies and fluid restrictions.
Use EPIC and VST to obtain necessary patient information and process menu requests correctly.
Process between-meal nourishment orders and print them for kitchen staff.
Follow the procedure for missed-meal reports, including alerting nursing staff.
Deliver or retrieve meal trays as needed.
Visit patients designated as needing assistance to obtain menu selections and enter them according to diet restrictions.
Deliver meal trays within service timeliness guidelines.
Follow delivery standards, including hand sanitization, infection-control requirements, use of two patient identifiers, AIDET, and key phrases; alert nursing if a patient is not properly positioned to eat or appears to need assistance.
Check trays for missing items and promptly correct omissions; maintain a supply of condiments on the cart.
Document information required for ordered calorie counts.
Inform new patients about room service, provide menus, and explain the service as needed.
Maintain communication and rapport with nursing staff.
Work as a team with Clinical Dietitians, respect their primary responsibility for patient nutritional care, and respond appropriately.
Communicate patient special requests clearly to tray-line and production personnel and follow up on unusual requests.
Maintain cleanliness of unit nutrition centers in accordance with departmental policies, health department regulations, sanitation, safety, quality-control, and HACCP requirements.
Collect patient trays and return them to the kitchen within a reasonable timeframe.
Assist the room-service assembly line, wrap silverware, or help in the dishroom while waiting for trays, as needed.
Follow procedures for phone and iPad use.
Complete other assigned duties, which may include duties normally performed by a dietetic assistant.
Meet daily deadlines for completing menus and delivering meals on time.