Dietitian

Plans, evaluates & implements nutritional care plans for the client population served at Summit Behavioral Healthcare (e.g. adult, geriatric, acute, intermediate, chronic geriatric-psych, forensic, MI/MR, dual diagnosis, deaf &/or hard of hearing); consults with physicians and other healthcare professionals provide client population with counseling and education to promote and support a healthy lifestyle & nutritional intake. Participate in interdisciplinary team meetings as required & provides input regarding patient’s nutritional needs; plans, implements & evaluates regular, special & modified diets to ensure regulatory compliance in area of dietetics and nutrition with the following accrediting bodies; Joint Commission, Medicare & Medicaid. Develops individualized long & short range goals consistent with departmental & RPH policies. “SBH recognizes patient safety as a core value. All employees are required to participate in the organizations strategic plan, providing quality services in an atmosphere which promotes patient safety in accordance with SBH policy; and will report any patient safety issues to immediate supervision. It is further recognized that all employees utilize electronic means (i.e. email, phone and intranet features) to remain current with training & communication of pertinent safety issues."

Completes annual patient nutritional assessments (e.g., interviewing patient, collecting data, interviewing direct care staff): develops nutritional care plans, monitors progress, communicates results of assessments to appropriate personnel; conducts needs assessments of assigned patient units. Craft diets of patients & educate them on benefits of maintaining proper dietary standards. Monitors patients who have nutritional situations resulting from excessive weight gain or loss, diet refusals & makes recommendations to treatment team. Prepares quarterly reports; completes nutritional risk screens, diet histories & daily dietary census updates of dietary & nutritional progress (e.g., charts treatment plans & progress notes); prepares individual written records of diet order & change; relays information to appropriate staff for those clients who receive therapeutic diets; revises forms & recording formats as necessary.

Plans & conducts in-service training programs regarding quality control, effectiveness & efficiency of the food service system. Plans, implements & evaluates cooking & nutrition groups for patients, confers with contracted Food Service Personnel & direct care staff on preparation of modified diets. Trains patients & in-services unit staff regarding proper nutrition & compliance with dietary orders. Updates nutritional clinical policies & procedures. Receives on-going training regarding dietetics & nutrition. Continuously & proactively assesses environmental situations; annually provides license, registration & continuing education units (CEU) information to supervisor; evaluates & inspects meals for adherence to highest standards for quality; participates in & integrates with RPH quality assurance programs.