Dietary Services Manager

SUMMARY OF POSITION FUNCTIONS

Manages the Dietary department to ensure nourishing, palatable, well-balanced diets meet the daily nutritional and special dietary needs of each resident, consistent with laws and regulations and accepted nutritional standards while allocating department resources in an efficient and economic manner.

ESSENTIAL POSITION FUNCTIONS

• Supervises food preparation using techniques that conserve nutritional value, flavor, and appearance.
• Ensures food preparation and service that leaves kitchen is served to residents in scheduled time frames.
• Provides food substitutes of similar nutritional value for residents who refuse food served.
• Completes and updates nutritional status for the comprehensive resident assessment process.
• Performs assessments to identify residents' current needs for dietary services and those residents at nutritional risk. Refers residents to Registered Dietitian for additional evaluation.
• Interviews residents, interested family members, legal representatives, and significant others to obtain and update information needed to develop individualized plans of care to accommodate individual needs and preferences and to protect and promote residents' rights.
• Works cooperatively with members of the interdisciplinary team to develop, implement, and evaluate plans of care. Attend care conferences and nutritional wellness committee.
• Communicates resident concerns and responses to interventions to the interdisciplinary team members and direct care staff.
• Identifies ways to accommodate resident's choices, preferences, and customary routines in matters of eating.
• Cooperates with other departments to identify and accommodate individual resident needs and preferences.
• Conducts regular meal observations, reviews records, and interviews staff and residents to ensure that all residents are receiving food in the amount, type, consistency, and frequency to maintain adequate nutritional parameters. If food intake is inadequate or resident's nutritional status is poor,
• adjusts the menus to meet nutrient needs of the resident. Refers complex issues to the Registered Dietitian for assessment and intervention.
• Orders food economically and efficiently from sources approved or considered satisfactory by Federal, State, or local authorities. Maintains sufficient inventory of supplies. Establishes system to track inventory and secure storage areas.
• Stores, prepares, and serves all food under sanitary conditions to prevent the transmission of food borne illness.
• Disposes of trash and waste, including bio-hazardous waste and other material that requires special handling in compliance with state and federal requirements. All garbage or waste must be properly contained in dumpsters or compactors with lids or otherwise covered.
• Monitors workplace for safety and fire hazards. Corrects or reports problems to supervisor. Reports maintenance and equipment problems promptly to Maintenance Supervisor.
• Maintains workplace in an orderly clean manner. Stores supplies and equipment in proper place when not in use.
• Inspects physical plant for any signs of rodents or pests daily and implements effective pest control system.
• Completes and maintains all dietary services records and forms, including administrative statistics on food costs, menus, and repairs.
• Verifies resident information daily regarding new admissions, diet order changes, room changes, and daily census.
• Monitor staff for compliance with OSHA mandates on workplace safety.
• Attends in-service education programs and staff meetings as assigned and applies information to job tasks.
• Actively participates in the long term care survey process by instructing staff in matters of conduct and disclosure, maintaining presence at all times while surveyors are on-site and directing the timely collection of information required by the survey team. Demonstrates concern for identified problems and undertakes corrective action while survey is in progress if appropriate. Gathers and presents supplemental documentation to avoid potential deficiencies. Collaborates with the Executive Director to develop responses to survey report as needed.
• Collaborates with Registered Dietitian timely to requests for information and suggestions to improve quality of Dietary Services.
• Complies with the facility's privacy practices and procedures related to resident and employee records and all state/federal privacy laws as outlined by HIPAA.

Note: The essential functions of this job may be revised or updated as facility needs dictate.

NON-ESSENTIAL POSITION FUNCTIONS

• Other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Directly supervises dietary employees. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• According to the 2001 Federal Food Code, food service workers cannot have artificial nails or use colored nail polish, including clear.

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this position successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Minimum of one (1) year experience as Certified Dietary Manager, Chef or Cook in a restaurant style kitchen;
• Must have successfully completed an approved sanitation course.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES

• Must have a minimum of three (3) year supervisory experience.
• Cooking experience.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.
• Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume. Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

• ServSafe or equivalent training.