Job Objective :

Responsible for patient food service on assigned units, e.g., menu selections, tray assembly, tray delivery and pick up, special requests and needs, in-between meal food delivery.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

The Catering Associate exhibits a friendly, caring attitude to patients when introducing the Catering to You program, taking menu selections, delivering trays, inquiring during catering rounds and retrieving trays.

• Takes patients menu selections prior to each meal.
• Complies with dietary restrictions on special, modified diets to ensure optimal food preferences are met within guidelines of diet order limitations.
• Offers alternatives to menu as allowed on prescribed diet in accordance with food allergies and sensitivities, cultural, ethnic and religious preferences, when patient inquires or needs additional selections.
• Assembles trays according to patients menu on tray tickets in a timely and accurate manner.
• Interacts with Nursing to ensure patients’ diet prescriptions are accurate, and patients’ food needs are met.
• Completes catering rounds after passing trays to inquire if patient needs anything else.
• Retrieves trays from patients’ rooms shortly after completing round.
• Maintains accurate and current information for each patient on assigned unit(s).
• Assists dietitian with monitoring of patients who are NPO, on liquid diets or have a calorie count ordered.
• Communicates any patient related problems/concerns to appropriate personnel, in a timely manner following departmental procedures.
• Wears name tag identification.
• Adheres to facility confidentiality and patient’s rights policy as outlined in the facility’s HIPAA policies and procedures.
• Contributes to patient satisfaction goals by providing quality service.
• Complies with federal, state and local health and sanitation regulations and department sanitation procedures.
• Maintains a clean, sanitary working environment.
• Follows HACCP guidelines when assembling and distributing food supplies to ensure quality and safety of food supply.
• Completes all daily, weekly or monthly reports as outlined in the corporate policies and procedures on a timely basis meeting all prescribed deadlines.
• Identifies and utilizes cleaning chemicals following directions recommended by manufacturers and per SDS sheets.
• Utilizes equipment in performing job functions according to department’s safety procedures.
• Follows facility and departmental safety policies and procedures to include incident reporting.
• Follows facility and departmental infection control policies and procedures.
• Follows the facility’s protocols for Hazardous Materials and Waste Program.
• Adheres to Emergency Preparedness Program. Participates in disaster drills, as appropriate.
• Adheres to Life Safety Program and participates in fire drills as appropriate.
• Responds to utility failures following department guidelines.
• Participates and attends departmental meetings and staff development programs, as appropriate.
• Exhibits pleasant and cheerful demeanor and maintains a helpful attitude towards employees, physicians, patients, and visitors.
• Reads and complies with all hospital and department policies and procedures as appropriate.
• Performs other tasks as may be assigned.

Non-Essential Duties:

• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Two- (2) years’ experience in hospital/health care food service is preferred, but not required.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Basic math skills and the ability to calculate dietary restrictions are preferred.
• Basic computer skills.
• Some familiarity with nutritional therapies and their application to menu selection.
• 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 effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to patients, families and associates of the organization.
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute ratio, and percent.
• Possesses necessary skills to effectively operate hospital’s admission, discharge and transfer (ADT) system and other computer-based systems, which manage patient-care records.
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, or oral form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations
• Ability to accurately handle multiple tasks at the same time.

Core Competencies:

Accountability

Action Oriented

Customer Focused

Compassion

Effective Communication

Teamwork

Ethics & Values

Integrity & Trust

Education and Experience:

Education

• High School Diploma or GED desired.

Experience

• Two- (2) years’ experience in hospital/health care food service is preferred, but not required.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Basic math skills and the ability to calculate dietary restrictions are preferred.
• Basic computer skills.
• Some familiarity with nutritional therapies and their application to menu selection.
• Ability to accurately handle multiple tasks at the same time.

Required Licensure and/or Certifications:

• None

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; The employee is occasionally climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and taste or smell.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
• Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those an associate encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions; moving mechanical parts; fumes or airborne particles; toxic or caustic chemicals; extreme cold; extreme heat; risk of electrical shock and risk of radiation. The noise level in the work environment is usually loud.

A detailed description of the physical requirements of this job is maintained in the Employee Health Department.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Two- (2) years’ experience in hospital/health care food service is preferred, but not required.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Basic math skills and the ability to calculate dietary restrictions are preferred.
• Basic computer skills.
• Some familiarity with nutritional therapies and their application to menu selection.
• 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 effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to patients, families and associates of the organization.
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute ratio, and percent.
• Possesses necessary skills to effectively operate hospital’s admission, discharge and transfer (ADT) system and other computer-based systems, which manage patient-care records.
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, or oral form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations
• Ability to accurately handle multiple tasks at the same time.