Food Service Associate

I. Position Function:

• Portions and plates food, before and during tray-line.
• Performs all tray-line tasks associated with the Patient Tray Service to ensure patient satisfaction.
• Performs a wide variety of functions to ensure timely, accurate and courteous deliver and pick-up of patient trays, and nourishment.
• Perform food preparation (i.e., gelatin, custard, sandwiches, salads, and desserts) for patient and customer satisfaction.
• Maintains sanitation standards for all dishes and equipment to ensure patient satisfaction and meet all health code standards.
• Stock and maintain sanitation standards for patient floor kitchens.

II. Job Relationships:

• Supervised and reportable to Food Service Managers.
• Must be able to effectively communicate with patients, visitors and other hospital staff.

III. Authority:

• To be able to assemble and deliver patient meal trays, timely and accurately.

IV. A. Responsibilities/Essential Functions:

• 1.) "Provides superior customer service to internal and external clients, customers, and patients as referenced in the Service Excellence Standards."
• Maintains tray-line standards to ensure that patient tray are accurate, timely and of good quality.
• Ensures the maintenance of proper food temperatures during the tray-lines.
• Sets up tray-line to ensure quick and accurate serving of food.
• Serves appropriate food, beverages, condiments and garnish in an attractive manner on all trays.
• Late trays are prepared quickly and accurately to ensure patient satisfaction.
• Produces and portions products according to established par levels, utilizing recipes or directions to meet established standards.
• Prepares sandwich of the day and special salad/fruit plates.
• Prepares garnishes for days tray service.
• Has working knowledge of diet principles.
• Reads and interprets patient menu to assure patients get correct food and accompaniments.
• Places foods/beverages and condiments on patient tray assuring that principles of all diets are followed.
• Provides meal service to patients to support the departments mission.
• Meets food truck and begins delivering trays within 5 minutes of truck arrival. Delivers trays to patients bedside table for all patients except patients on respiratory isolation, HOLD or NPO
• Notifies nursing of all hold and isolation trays and passes them if appropriate.
• Checks trays against patient name on door to ensure proper delivery of trays.
• Delivers patient in-between meal feeding at 8:00 PM., ensuring that all items are accurate and maintain quality standards.
• Assembles and delivers late trays to patients within 30 minutes of receiving menu.
• Delivers early trays to patient rooms on a timely basis.
• Maintains effective and efficient communication with all personnel and patients to ensure the smooth operation of the kitchen.
• Maintains patient nourishment areas and kitchens stock to meet the patients nutritional needs.
• Accurately inventories, cleans, rotates stock and discards out dated items, restocks and wipes out refrigerators, records temperatures to ensure sanitation standards.
• Completes all dish-room functions accurately and in a timely way to ensure the proper sanitation of all dishes.
• Completes all functions in the dish-room to ensure that all dishes are washed by 10:30 AM., 3:00 PM., and 7:00 PM.
• Follows established sanitation guidelines to ensure a clean and safe work environment.
• Adheres to sanitation guidelines to prevent food borne illness and possible spread of infection.
• Maintains a "CLEAN AS YOU GO" policy using prescribed methods as demonstrated by a clean and neat work area.
• Uses proper hand washing techniques.
• Covers, labels and dates food in the appropriate containers.
• Utilizes and stores cleaning agents properly.
• Attends all employee meetings and in-services as scheduled by the supervisor.

B. Responsibilities/Non-Essential Functions:

• Appropriate dishes, bowls, cups and utensils are used for serving food to ensure attractiveness and correct portion sizes.
• Station is refilled with food or beverages as necessary in a quick and accurate fashion.
• Coffee and iced tea is brewed according to standards and served in appropriate mugs.
• Bring questions referring to diets to tray-line management for resolution.
• Collects patient food trays and places trays on the truck no later than 60 minutes after service.
• Notifies supervisor of all requests made by nursing or patients or calling the diet office.
• Refers all patients questions to appropriate personnel.
• Informs supervisors of problems that arise either by notifying supervisor during meal rounds or by calling the diet office.
• Washes and dries all food trucks after every meal to ensure proper sanitation.
• Reports all unsafe conditions and improper articles on patient trays (such as needles, glasses, etc.) to supervisor immediately for appropriate disposal.
• Ensures that all paper items, straws, plastic are removed from the dishes and trays prior to loading into the dish-machine.
• Station is cleaned and wiped down after each meal.
• Station (i.e., steam-tables, milk-box belt-line area) is turned off, drained, wiped down and sanitized after dinner meal.
• Empties lowerators and equipment is pushed into the dish-room.
• Utensils are rinsed off and put in the pot-sink in the pot-room.
• Maintains clean and sanitary equipment/utensils using prescribed cleaning methods following all sanitation checklists.

V. Reporting Requirements:

• Reports any questions referring to diets to tray-line management for resolution.
• Notifies nursing of all HOLDS and isolation trays and passes them if appropriate.
• Notifies supervisor of all requests made by nursing or patients by referring or calling to diet office.
• Informs supervisor of any problems that arise either by notifying supervisors during meal rounds or by calling diet office.
• Reports all unsafe conditions and improper articles on patient trays.

VI. Accountability:

• Shall be accountable for maintaining all tray-line standards, to ensure that patient trays are accurate, timely and of good quality.
• Shall be accountable for observing hospital policies and procedures.
• Shall be accountable for proper patient identification by asking patients name and checking ID bracelet.
• Shall be accountable for observing all policies and procedures of the department, including Safety and Sanitation, Infection Control and Fire Safety.

VII. Qualifications:

Minimum Education:

• High School or GED equivalent preferred.

Minimum Experience:

• Food service experience preferred, willing to train if necessary.

Minimum skills/abilities:

• Must be able to read and write English.
• Must be able to work on a tray assembly line.

Certification/Licensure:

None

Training:

On going training in-services required

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans