General Purpose:

Manage the operation of the Dietary Department to include staffing, food ordering, and preparation, food delivery and clean-up in accordance with facility policies, physician orders, resident care plans and appropriate regulations.

Essential Job Functions:

This facility expects their employees to promote an atmosphere of teamwork with other employees and hospitality and comfort for its residents. Therefore, the following list of duties is not all-inclusive:

Plan Dietary Services

• Participate in regularly scheduled conferences including Department Supervisor meetings and Interdisciplinary Care plan meetings.
• Purchase food and supplies within budget and maintain a supply to adequately cover each meal.
• Provide technical guidance and administrative direction over diet planning menu formulation, and preparation and service of regular and therapeutic diets.
• Plan menus, conferring with the Dietary Consultant as needed, to confirm that menus conform to nutritional standards and government and established regulations and procedures.
• Interview residents or family members, as necessary, to obtain diet history.
• Participate in maintaining records of the resident’s food likes and dislikes.
• Confirm that charted dietary progress notes are informative and descriptive of the services provided and of the resident’s response to the service.
• Visit residents periodically to evaluate quality of meals served, likes and dislikes, etc.
• Provide timely and accurate completion of dietary portion of MDS, RAP, Resident Care Planning, and Progress Notes as well as Dietary Assessment, Nutritional Data Card, Diet Card and any other dietary forms as required by the Administrator in order to comply with federal and state regulations and facility policies and procedures.

Supervise Food Preparation and Staffing

• Provide nutritious, well-prepared, and palatable meals in a timely and consistent manner while adhering to menus and diet orders.
• Verify appropriate meals/snacks are served to residents with special Dietary needs.
• Monitor food production maintaining use of standardized recipes and menus and ensuring proper preparation and storage of food and supplies.
• Maintain the highest level of quality and timeliness of food service.
• Maintain adequate food and supplies for disaster preparedness as required by state and federal regulations.

Unit Supervision Management

• Interview, hire, train, supervise, evaluate and discipline dietary personnel.
• Provide that departmental disciplinary action is administered fairly and without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, or marital status.
• Recognize staff for exceptional care and job performance on a regular basis and as part of their formal performance evaluation.
• Make job assignments and set priorities.
• Orient new staff and participate in recruitment and selection.
• Keep employees informed of changes that affect them.
• Meet Company policies and State and Federal regulations regarding sanitation and safe food handling techniques.
• Develop Plan of Correction following State, Federal and QA surveys as needed.
• Maintain records, manage budget and supplies.
• Monitor equipment and work areas to verify they are maintained in a clean, safe and orderly manner; maintain strict adherence to procedures regarding cleaners or hazardous materials or objects; verify universal precautions and infection control, isolation, fire, safety and sanitation practices and procedures are followed; and promptly address any hazardous conditions and equipment.
• Monitor food preparation and food storage areas to be sure that health and sanitation regulations are being met.
• Review resident diet information and care plans, discuss with resident, family, nursing staff, and Dietary Services Consultant as necessary to make appropriate changes.
• Create and implement procedures for department equipment to be operated only by trained, authorized personnel in a safe manner.

Other Duties

• Attend in-service education programs in order to meet facility educational requirements.
• Be familiar with Standard Precautions, Exposure Control Plan, Fire Drill and Evacuation Procedures and know how to use the information.
• Maintain confidentiality of resident and facility records/information.
• Protect residents from neglect, mistreatment, and abuse.
• Protect the personal property of the residents of the facility.
• Others as directed by the supervisor or administrator.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Registered Dietician, Certified Dietary Manager, Diet Technician, or previous Dietary Manager, meeting the requirements established by the State Regulatory Agency.
• Organized and detailed in work performance.
• Good communication skills with excellent self-discipline and patience.
• Genuine caring for and interest in elderly and disabled people in a nursing facility.
• Comply with the Residents’ Rights and Facility Policies and Procedures.
• Perform work tasks within the physical demand requirements as outlined below.
• Perform Essential Duties as outlined above.

Working Conditions:

• Subject to frustrations in meeting work demands due to frequent interruptions.
• Fast paced, required to make decisions quickly
• Involved with residents, personnel, visitors, government agencies/personnel, etc., under all conditions and circumstances.
• May work beyond normal duty hours, on weekends, and in other positions temporarily, when necessary.
• Subject to call-back during emergency conditions (e.g., severe weather, evacuation, post-disaster, etc.).
• Subject to exposure to infectious waste, diseases, conditions, etc., including TB and the AIDS and Hepatitis B viruses.
• May be subject to the handling of and exposure to hazardous chemicals