Job Summary:

This position is for a Registered Dietitian or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, providing professional health care services for the Zuni Comprehensive Community Health Center (ZCCHC) in Zuni, NM, a federal facility in a Native American/American Indian community. A minimum one (1) year commitment is preferred. Options for additional consecutive one (1) year commitments may exist but are based on client needs. The purpose of this position is to establish and direct the dietary department of a 27-bed hospital, direction and coordination of the impatient dietary care, nutritional education of inpatients and outpatients to meet patient’s dietary requirements and restrictions for optimal health outcomes. The position will provide education to patients with a variety of nutrition related health conditions, most frequently diabetes, obesity, liver disease, kidney disease, gestational diabetes, and pediatric obesity.

SCCHC is located on the Zuni Pueblo, about 37 miles south of Gallup, NM. The SCCHC serves a traditional and rural Native population of about 14,000, with about 60% of patient coming from the Zuni Tribe and about 40% from the surrounding Navajo community. ZCCHC strives to care of the entire community in a holistic, strength-based way.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• This position has no direct supervisory responsibilities but does serve as a coach and mentor for other positions in the department.

Job Classification: Contract

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Establishes and administers the total Dietary Department of the hospital including direction and coordination of the inpatient dietary care and nutrition education of inpatients and outpatients, consistent with IHS agency policies.
• Plans, develops, controls, and evaluates the meals prepared by the kitchen staff and delivered to inpatients and guests.
• Communicates appropriate dietary and nutritional care data through a written record system according to Joint Commission and CMS standards.
• Inpatient and outpatient Nutrition education most frequently targeting dietetic issues related to diabetes, obesity, liver disease, kidney disease, gestational diabetes, and pediatric obesity.
• Counsel's individuals and families in nutritional principles, dietary plans, food selections and economics.
• Supervises development of menus; reviews and evaluates menus with consideration toward cost, availability, nutritional requirements, culturally acceptable diet modifications and patient acceptance.
• Establishes and maintains standards of food production and services, sanitation, safety, infection control, and ergonomics.
• Develops, administers, and assesses nutritional need for normal and therapeutic dietary programs for hospital patients and patients in the outpatient setting, and develops a care plan including patent teaching, handouts, and follow up care.
• Documents in EHR educational assessment, topics covered and evaluation of patient's level of understanding and personal self care plan and evaluation of attainment of patient self determined goals.
• Reviews, selects and develops educational materials and resources to ensure cultural appropriateness and sensitivity based on the client's educational needs along with team members.
• Direct nutrition care aides in assuring that patients receive nutrition care that meets the nutrition therapy care plan.
• Assess patient's learning needs and provide nutrition education appropriate to the patient's literacy and/or cognitive ability.
• Makes decisions regarding own work methods, occasionally in ambiguous situations, and requires minimal direction and receives guidance where needed.
• Reports potential or actual patient safety concerns, medical errors and/or near misses in a timely manner.
• Maintains the dignity and worth of individuals, respects cultural, spiritual and psychosocial differences and applies philosophical and ethical concepts that promote quality and continuity of care. Demonstration of continual cultural awareness and focus on customer service while adhering to the Code of Ethics and Federal Code of Conduct
• Maintains confidentiality of patient care records.
• This description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the individual. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

Required Skills and Abilities:

• Knowledge of human nutrition and its relationship to health and disease, public health practices, nutritional needs of the service unit population and standard of nutritional care.
• Knowledge of the food practices and culture of the population, available resources and current nutrition and food service programs.
• Knowledge of hospital food service management, food sanitation and safety. Knowledge of Joint Commission, CMS, and IHS requirements.
• Current professional knowledge as required to direct the activities of the Dietary Department.
• Ability to plan an appropriate nutrition and dietetics program for the hospital based on the above knowledge.

Education and Experience:

• REQUIRED: Bachelor's degree in the field of dietetics, food, nutrition, or food service management or completion of an undergraduate program or internship approved by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
• REQUIRED: Registration as a Registered Dietitian or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.
• REQUIRED: Minimum of 2 years of experience in a healthcare setting.
• Preferred: Master’s Degree in Nutrition Sciences or related field
• Preferred: Qualified candidates who are local to the community or reservation.
• Preferred: Experience working in a tribal healthcare setting and familiarity with health and nutrition issues within American Indian communities.
• Preferred: Public Health/Community Health experience.
• Preferred: Completion of a CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator) certification.

Physical Requirements:

• Must be able to withstand physical and emotional stress.
• Requires long hours of standing and moving.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license.

Benefits:

Eligible employees receive the following benefits:

• Health, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Access to Teladoc
• Paid Annual Leave/PTO
• Paid Sick Leave
• Paid Holidays
• 401(k)
• Life Insurance
• Accident Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Pre-employment Requirements:

This position may be contingent upon passing a security clearance, background check, drug screen, Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) review, or credit check after acceptance of an offer and prior to beginning work, due to the nature of the services Chloeta provides.

Drug and Alcohol Testing:

To enforce Chloeta’s Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy, an employee or candidate could be subject to undergoing a drug screen and/or alcohol testing during or at the beginning of employment.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA):

Under the FCRA, Chloeta may request a credit check during the onboarding process. A written authorization form will be required before obtaining credit records.

Emergency Response:

Every Chloeta employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official Duty Station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official Position Description (PD). Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

EEO Statement:

Chloeta provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

About Chloeta:

Chloeta is a privately held, certified Native American owned enterprise providing a diverse range of engineering, scientific and technical solutions to support military, energy, homeland security, emergency preparedness and critical infrastructure requirements.