Nutrition Care Assistant

WVU Medicine

16h•Onsite

About The Position

This position 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 Nutrition Care Assistant must understand special diets and allergies, maintain cleanliness of nutrition centers in patient care areas, and provide excellent customer service while prioritizing patient safety. The role also involves coordinating with patients, nursing staff, clinical dietitians, kitchen staff, and tray-line personnel to support timely and appropriate meal service. The position is scheduled from 12:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., 40 hours per week, with rotating weekends and holidays. A valid Monongalia County Health Department Food Service Worker Permit (FSWP) is required throughout employment. Candidates may start with a temporary permit obtained no later than the first Wednesday of employment and must obtain a permanent permit within one month of the start date, at the next available class. 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.

Requirements

Must have a valid Food Service Worker Permit (FSWP) from the Monongalia County Health Department before starting, or obtain a temporary MCHD FSWP no later than the first Wednesday of employment and a permanent MCHD FSWP within one month of the start date at the next available class.
Must maintain a valid MCHD FSWP throughout employment.
Until a temporary FSWP is obtained, may not handle exposed food or any food-contact surface, equipment, or utensil.
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 preferred.

Responsibilities

Answer patient phone calls according to customer service standards.
Follow diet restrictions, including allergies and fluid restrictions.
Use EPIC and VST to access necessary patient information and correctly process menu requests.
Process between-meal nourishment orders and print them for kitchen staff.
Follow department procedures 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 intervene to correct them immediately; maintain the supply of condiments on the cart.
Document information required for ordered calorie counts.
Monitor new patients’ knowledge of room service, provide menus, and explain the service as needed.
Establish and maintain rapport with nursing staff through effective communication.
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, and HACCP sanitation, safety, and quality-control guidelines.
Collect patient trays and return them to the kitchen within a reasonable timeframe.
Assist the room-service assembly line as needed while waiting for trays, including wrapping silverware or helping in the dishroom.
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.