Dietary Supervisor

The Dietary Supervisor is responsible for assisting the Dietary Director in planning, organizing, and directing the overall operation of the Dietary Department.

• Assist in planning, developing, and implementing dietary programs and activities
• Coordinate dietary services with other related departments
• Work with facility consultants to make recommendations for improvements
• Develop and maintain written dietary policies and procedures
• Interpret departmental policies and procedures to associates, residents, visitors, and government agencies
• Assume responsibility for obtaining and maintaining MSDS sheets for hazardous chemicals used or stored in the dietary department
• Complete necessary forms, reports, evaluations, and studies to ensure control of equipment and supplies
• Review departmental policies, procedure manuals, job descriptions, and other documents annually and make recommendations for revisions
• Develop and maintain a file of tested standard recipes
• Keep abreast of economic conditions and recommend adjustments in dietary services to ensure continued ability to provide daily services
• Assume responsibility and accountability for daily supervision of the Dietary Department
• Inspect food storage rooms, utility closets, and other areas for upkeep and supply control
• Review and assist in developing a plan of correction for dietary service deficiencies noted during survey inspections
• Process diet changes and new diets as received from nursing services
• Assist the Infection Control Coordinator in identifying, evaluating, and classifying routine and job-related dietary functions to ensure that tasks involve potential exposure to blood/body fluids and properly identified and recorded
• Review departmental complaints and grievances from personnel and make written reports to the Dietitian and/or Administrator of action taken
• Assist in developing, implementing, and maintaining an ongoing quality assurance program for the Dietary Department
• Assist in planning the dietary services portion of the resident's discharge plan
• Interview residents or family members to obtain diet history
• Maintain records of the resident's food likes and dislikes
• Assist in developing methods for determining quality and quantity of food served
• Ensure that charted dietary progress notes are informative and descriptive of the services provided and of the resident's response to the service
• Ensure that menus are maintained and filed in accordance with facility procedures
• Maintain a reference library of written materials, laws, diet manuals, and other resources necessary for complying with current standards and regulations
• Visit residents periodically to evaluate the quality of meals served, likes, and dislikes
• Involve residents/family members in planning objectives and goals for the residents
• Assist in planning regular and special diet menus as prescribed by the attending physician
• Review therapeutic and regular diet plans and menus to ensure they are in compliance with the physician's orders
• Meet with administration, medical, and nursing staff as well as other related departments in planning food service programs and activities
• Assist in establishing a food service production line to ensure that meals are prepared and delivered on time
• Ensure that residents are offered a nourishing snack at bedtime
• Assist in developing preliminary and comprehensive assessments of the dietary needs of each resident
• Assist in developing a written dietary plan of care that identifies the dietary problems/needs of the resident and the goals to be accomplished for each identified problem/need
• Encourage the resident/family to participate in the development and review of the resident's plan of care
• Assist in the scheduling of care plans and assessments to be presented and discussed at each committee meeting
• Ensure that all dietary personnel are aware of the care plan and that care plans are used in planning dietary services
• Review nurses' notes to determine if the care plan is being followed and discuss problem areas with the Director of Nursing
• Ensure that care plans identify any special equipment and utensils the resident may need
• Review and revise care plans and assessments as necessary, but at least quarterly
• Provide substitute food of similar nutritive value to residents who refuse foods served
• Develop and maintain a good rapport with all services involved with the care plan to ensure that a team effort is achieved in developing the resident's comprehensive plan of care
• Assist in the recruitment, interviewing, and selection of dietary personnel
• Determine departmental staffing needs and assign a sufficient number of personnel for each shift
• Schedule department work hours, personnel, and work assignments
• Counsel/discipline dietary personnel as necessary
• Record counseling/discipline actions and recommend termination of employment to the Administrator as necessary
• Review and check competence of dietary personnel and make necessary arrangements for training/correction
• Make daily rounds to ensure that dietary personnel are performing required duties
• Monitor absenteeism of dietary personnel and counsel/discipline according to established facility procedures
• Conduct performance evaluations in accordance with the facility's policies and procedures
• Report occupational exposures to blood, body fluids, infectious materials, and hazardous chemicals in accordance with the facility's policies and procedures
• Serve on various committees as directed by the Administrator
• Provide written/oral reports of the dietary services to committees as requested
• Evaluate and implement recommendations from established committees as they pertain to dietary services
• Attend department head meetings as scheduled
• Schedule and coordinate departmental meetings as needed
• Assist in developing safety standards for the Dietary Department
• Make weekly inspections of all dietary functions to ensure that quality control measures are continually maintained
• Ensure that dietary service work areas, food storage rooms, preparation areas, etc., are maintained in a clean and sanitary manner
• Ensure that fire safety drills and disaster preparedness drills are conducted in a safe and professional manner
• Assist the Infection Control Coordinator in developing and implementing aseptic and isolation techniques
• Ensure that appropriate protective clothing/devices are readily available and used for handling infectious waste and/or blood/body fluids
• Assist in developing, implementing, and maintaining a program for monitoring communicable and/or infectious diseases among residents and personnel
• Ensure that dietary personnel follow established infection control procedures when isolation precautions become necessary
• Submit accident/incident reports to the Administrator within twenty-four (24) hours of their occurrence
• Assist in developing, implementing, and maintaining a procedure for reporting hazardous conditions or equipment
• Recommend equipment and supply needs to the Dietitian or Administrator
• Place orders for equipment and supplies as necessary or as may be instructed
• Make periodic rounds to check equipment and to ensure that necessary equipment is available and working properly
• Check supply rooms and custodial closets to ensure that needed supplies are on hand for routine cleaning tasks
• Ensure that stock levels of staple/non-staple food, supplies, equipment are maintained at an adequate level at all times
• Assist in interviewing food supply vendors, as requested
• Assist in the purchasing of food service supplies, equipment
• Assist in developing and monitoring adequate inventory control procedures
• Ensure that only trained and authorized personnel operate the department's equipment
• Assist in developing and implementing procedures which ensure that dietary service supplies are used in an efficient manner to avoid waste
• Forecast needs of the department
• Assist in preparing the Dietary Department's budget and submit to the Administrator for approval
• Maintain current written records of department expenditures and ensure that adequate financial records and cost reports are submitted to the Administrator
• Make departmental adjustments in order to conform to the approved budget, or as may be dictated by an analysis of the monthly operating statement
• Maintain the confidentiality of all resident care information
• Knock before entering a resident's room
• Monitor dietary services to ensure that all residents' dietary needs are being met
• Review complaints and grievances made by the resident and make a written/oral report to the Administrator indicating what actions were taken to resolve the complaint and the current status of the complaint following established facility procedures
• Participate in resident council meetings as requested and provide support services to such council

• Must possess, as a minimum, a High School Diploma or GED
• Must be a graduate of an accredited course in dietetic training approved by the American Dietetic Association or a graduate of another course in food service supervision with 90 or more hours in classroom instruction with on-the-job counseling by a registered dietitian
• Must have a minimum of one (1) year of experience in a supervisory capacity in a hospital, skilled nursing care, or other related medical facility
• Training in cost control, food management, diet therapy, or related training preferred
• Must be able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language
• Must display professionalism both in appearance and attitude
• Must possess the ability to solve problems and make independent decisions when circumstances warrant such action
• Must genuinely care for and understand the elderly and disabled
• Must possess the ability and the willingness to work harmoniously with and to coach and supervise other personnel
• Must be able to plan, organize, develop, implement, and interpret the programs, goals, objectives, policies, and procedures that are necessary for providing dietary services
• Must have patience, tact, a positive disposition, and enthusiasm, as well as the willingness to handle difficult people
• Must be willing to seek out new methods and principles and be willing to incorporate them into existing dietary practices
• Must be able to read and interpret dietary cost reports, financial data, etc.
• Must be able to relate information concerning a resident's condition
• Must not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the workplace