At Kindred Healthcare It Starts With Me.  

Our commitment is to deliver excellence and an empathetic human experience to every patient, every family member, every employee, every time. We do this through our Core Values which help in guiding our work every day.

 

Job Summary: The Registered Dietitian is responsible for the planning and implementation of the nutrition care of the patients in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local standards and regulations, clinical guidelines, and policies and procedures.  The dietitian, in collaboration with the Culinary Services Manager, ensures high quality nutrition care is provided to the patients through oral, enteral, and parenteral nutrition therapy.

 

Essential Functions  

Leadership:

• Completes annual competency testing and maintains professional growth and development portfolio to maintain registration and licensure/certification.
• Performs job based on applicable federal, state, and local regulations, company policies and procedures, and evidenced based clinical guidelines.
• Performs clinical duties within the defined scope of practice.
• Serves on various committees as required by company standards, regulations, and/or appointment by immediate supervisor.
• Participates in developing and implementing policies and procedures related to nutrition care of the patient.

 

Direct Patient Care:

• Conducts initial and reassessments on all patients admitted to the hospital.
• Ensure proper completion of documentation (assessments, care plans, education, discharge planning).
• Prescribes nutrition therapy to meet estimated needs and monitors tolerance.
• Provides ongoing reassessment to ensure optimal nutrition therapy is provided.
• Participates with interdisciplinary team meetings to develop, implement, and monitor the nutrition care plan.
• Interviews patients, family members, legal representatives, and/or significant others to obtain diet history, food preferences, and other pertinent information needed to develop and/or update plan of care.
• Advocates for patient to protect and promote patients’ rights, and accommodate individual needs and cultural/religious preferences.
• Involves the patient/family in planning objectives and goals for the patient.
• Conducts nutrition education individually and in classes to patients, families, staff, and community as appropriate.
• Conducts meal rounds to ensure patients are receiving therapy that meets patients’ need.
• Coordinates with culinary department to resolve patients’ concerns or dissatisfactions with diet or meal service.

 

 Menu Management (if Culinary Services manager is not a Registered Dietitian, then RD provides the following oversight):

• Provides oversight to the menu management process ensuring all aspects of the menu flow process is completed per policies and procedures.
• Reviews and approves all patient menus in the facility; must approve any substitutions provided to patients.
• Reviews and approves all nutritional data posted in the café.
• Provides oversight for the transcription of diet orders in the department to ensure accuracy.
• Ensures all patient snack orders are checked against the diet order and distributed to patients timely.
• Provides training to all staff as needed on therapeutic diets, menu process, food allergens, or other related topics.
• Is proficient in the operation of the menu management software.

 

Quality Assurance / Performance Improvement:

• Participates in the hospital’s performance improvement program by conducting, aggregating, trending, and acting on data for key department indicators.  
• Annual QAPI department plan is developed with mandatory components.  
• Participates in quality assurance activities that ensure oral nutrition therapy is safe and accurate from the culinary department.
• Monthly reports are taken to hospital committee as per facility policy.  
• Participates in the survey process; instructs staff in matters of conduct and disclosure; maintains a presence at all times while surveyors are on-site and directs the timely collection of information required by the survey team.  Undertakes corrective action while survey is in progress, if appropriate; works with other hospital departments to develop survey plan of correction, as needed.
• Communicates issues, concerns, and opportunities for improvement to supervisor routinely.  

 

Other:

• Fulfills job responsibilities in accordance with the standards set out in the Company’s Code of Business Conduct, its policies and procedures, the Corporate Compliance Program, applicable federal and state laws, and applicable professional standards and codes of ethics.
• Maintains confidentiality of all patient and/or employee information to assure patient and/or employee rights are protected.
• Consistently demonstrates guest relation’s skills to patients, physicians, visitors, employees, and any other individuals with whom they may come in contact.
• Works cooperatively as a team member with co-workers in all departments of the hospital.
• Adheres to dress code and wears proper identification while on duty; maintains neat and clean appearance.
• Completes annual health, safety, and education requirements;  maintains professional growth and development.
• Reports to work on time as scheduled; adheres to policies regarding notification of absence.
• Attends all mandatory in-services and staff meetings.
• Maintains current certification for position.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

 

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities/Expectations:

• Knowledge of therapeutic diets.
• Knowledge in current clinical nutrition guidelines.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and city food codes and regulations.
• Basic computer skills with working knowledge of Microsoft Office and ability to learn menu management system.
• Understands principles of growth and development for the entire life span with the ability to provide care appropriate for the adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients as appropriate to the patient population.
• Must read, write, and speak fluent English.
• Must have good and regular attendance.
• Approximate percent of time required to travel:  less than 10%

Education: 

1. Bachelor’s degree or higher in dietetics or nutrition related field required.

 

Registration /Licenses/Certification:  

1. Registration from the Commission on Dietetic Registration (www.cdrnet.org)
2. Licensure and/or certification from the State Licensing Board for Dietitians, if applicable

 

Experience: 

1. Two years experience in acute care hospital, preferred.  

**Registered dietitians awaiting approval of state licensure/certification may practice under a Provisional Licensure if the state licensing board allows.  Provisional dietitians must have all documentation in a medical record co-signed by a state licensed dietitian.

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