Cleveland Clinic: Patient Dining Associate

Job Title: Patient Dining Associate
Sector(s): Healthcare
Job Code(s):
Reports To: Patient Service Supervisor/Manager

FLSAStatus: Non-Exempt Date: July 2019

Summary: Patient Dining Associates work on assigned units in a healthcare facility, and provide services that include helping patients make menu selections, assemble, deliver and pick-up their meal trays. They are a huge part of creating a culture of comfort and compassion in the healthcare environment, taking care of patients’ special requests and nutritional needs.

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

Essential Functions: Patient Dining Associates are part of the caregiving team, responsible for patient safety and satisfaction goals by making sure meals are accurate and delivered at the right time and temperature. You should have a friendly, caring and compassionate attitude with patients when introducing the food service program, taking menu selections, delivering trays, and retrieving trays. As part of the caregiving team, your should always maintain a helpful attitude with nurses, physicians, other hospital employees and visitors.

The primary responsibilities include:

• Help patients understand their menu selections and work with nursing to ensure sure their orders comply with their nutritional requirements or restrictions.

• Maintain current and accurate information for each patient in assigned unit(s).

• Work with the caregivers and culinary team to determine menu alternatives for patients with

  food allergies and sensitivities; cultural, ethnic and religious preferences; or when a patient

  inquires about additional selections.

• Manage tray tickets and assemble meals according to each patient’s menu selection in a

  timely and accurate manner.

• Retrieve trays from patient rooms at assigned times.

• Assist dietitians, such as helping monitor patients who cannot eat food through their mouth,

  are on liquid diets or have a specific calorie count to manage.

• Communicate problems or concerns with patients to appropriate personnel in a timely manner,

  following department procedures.

• Complete all daily, weekly or monthly reports as outlined in the Morrison Healthcare policies

  and procedures.

• Maintain a clean, sanitary working environment.

• Attend and participate in department meetings and staff development programs, as

  appropriate.

  Associates will be asked to occasionally assist with breaking down, loading, or washing small wares and/or dishes between meal services.

Patient Safety: Our policies reflect our absolute commitment to putting the needs of the patient first. Morrison Associates are expected to maintain and support our safety standards, including:

• Wear name tag identification and adhere to hospital uniform policy, always maintaining a professional appearance.

• Comply with federal, state and local health and sanitation regulations, as well as department sanitation procedures.

• Adhere to facility confidentiality and the patient’s rights policy as outlined in the facility’s Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) policies and procedures.

• Follow Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) guidelines, a prevention based food safety system for meal assembly and distribution.

• Read and comply with all policies and Morrison Healthcare and Compass Group procedures as appropriate.

Follow facility and departmental safety policies and procedures, such as: 

• Use equipment according to the department’s safety procedures.
• Identify and use appropriate cleaning chemicals and follow directions recommended by manufacturers, per Safety Data Sheets (SDS.)
• Report incidents immediately
• Infection control.
• Hazardous Materials and Waste Program.
• Emergency Preparedness Program and participation in disaster drills, as appropriate. o Life Safety Program and participation in fire drills as appropriate.
• Utility failures
• Performs other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications:
Education and Experience: Less than high school education; or up to one month related experience

or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Language Skills: Ability to read and interpret documents in English, such as safety rules, proceduremanuals, and operation and maintenance instructions. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Capacity to effectively present information in one-on-one and small-group situations, to patients, families and associates of the organization.

Mathematical Skills: 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.

Computer Skills: Aptitude for effectively operating hospital’s admission, discharge and transfer (ADT) system, and other computer-based systems, which manage patient care records.

Reasoning Ability: Capacity to apply common sense understanding and carry out instructions furnished in written or oral form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described below are typical of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations can enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the associate is frequently required to talk or listen. They must also expect to regularly stand, walk and sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The associate is occasionally asked to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, taste, or smell.

The associate must occasionally lift and/or move up to 100 pounds, as well as maneuver and push food delivery carts.

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 can enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

While performing job duties, the associate 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.

Associates are required to deliver trays to patient rooms, which at times might include isolation rooms where additional safety precautions are required.

Associates must follow hospital policies concerning immunizations, and might be required to wear masks during flu season.

Disclaimer

This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, tasks, requirements, efforts or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to modify essential functions of the job, or to require that other or different tasks be performed when circumstances change (i.e. emergencies, changes in personnel, workload, rush jobs, or technical developments)