Catering Associate

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Technical Excellence

1. Thinks critically; utilizes sound judgment; promptly reports potential risks.

2. Maintains state of art knowledge of area of specialty, healthcare trends and practice, and populations served.

3. Maintains a level of computer literacy appropriate to their role.

4. Meets and maintains current all unit specific and organizational skills/competencies, certifications/licensures, as required.

5. Completes hospital-required reviews, e.g. HIPAA, safety, health screening,

care concerns, and others as assigned.

6. Adheres to National Patient Safety Goals.

Job Specifics

1. Demonstrates courteous and cooperative behavior when working with nursing and departmental staff; promotes positive working relationships.

2. Generates diet lists before every meal to verify current diet, review allergy list, record diet changes, and track admissions, transfers, and discharges.

3. Assembles trays according to patient selections and prescribed therapeutic or mechanical diet guidelines.

4. Makes hospitality rounds on assigned unit to ensure patient satisfaction with meals.

5. Follows up with problems that are discovered during hospitality rounds; takes immediate corrective action to solve problems.

6. Completes all assignments in a timely manner.

7. Washes hands according to established procedures.

8. Explains menu selection procedures and other food services which are available; assists patient with menu selection as needed.

9. Ensures quality and accuracy of patient trays.

10. Follows up with diet changes and new orders; makes certain that items are delivered in a timely manner.

11. Assembles patient nourishments or snacks per physician order

12. Utilizes scripting, set by management, when interacting with patients to promote the highest levels of patient satisfaction.

13. Demonstrates commitment to the values of the department to ensure the quality of service provided.

14. Demonstrates knowledge of own role in the event of a fire.

15. Demonstrates high standards of personal hygiene

16. Wears approved hair restraints in food preparation areas.

17. Demonstrates proper glove usage.

18. Handles dishes properly, being careful not to contaminate serving surfaces.

19. Demonstrates proper portion control when portioning foods.

20. Demonstrates cost effectiveness as evidenced through efficient use of materials.

21. Demonstrates proper food handling techniques; follows HACCP guidelines.

22. Attends scheduled in-service programs.

23. Has sufficient knowledge of modified diets and places proper foods and condiments on trays; has correct placement of items on tray.

24. Exhibits proper use of equipment; reports defective equipment or unsafe conditions immediately.

25. Consistently documents correct dish machine temperatures and reports sub-standards immediately.

26. Keeps area and equipment clean and sanitized according to established departmental standards as observed by QA activities.

27. Takes direction well from management and puts instruction into effect.

28. Communicates well with others as evidenced by proper and timely job completion.

29. Labels/dates food items correctly.

General Requirements

The following requirements are expected of all employees:

Core Values: Integrity, Compassion, Excellence, Service

Annual Health Screening with Infection Control and Blood Borne Pathogens Education

Safety Awareness: Hospital Fire, Safety, and Disaster Procedures

Confidentiality: Maintains Employee and Patient Confidentiality.

Attendance: Regular attendance is an essential function of the position

Leadership Standards:

Character: Attitude, Integrity, Role Modeling

Job Performance: Results Orientation, Customer Focus, Decision Making, Awareness

Interpersonal Skills: Communication, Relationship-building, Team Player, Celebration

Innovation: Breakthrough Thinking, Knowledge-Building/Sharing, Coaching/Empowering, System Vision & Management

Physical and Mental Requirements:

Classified as medium work by Dictionary of Occupational Titles. May exert 20-50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or 10-20 pounds of force frequently, and/or greater than negligible (up to 10 pounds) force constantly in order to move objects. Physical demand requirements are in excess of those for light work.

• Stands and walks throughout department and Hospital facility constantly.
• Finger dexterity to utilize a keyboard and to operate a calculator.
• Carries up to 20 pounds occasionally.
• Pushes/pulls carts and equipment of up to 50 pounds frequently throughout the department and patient floors
• Occasionally climbs to heights of up to 2 feet
• Lifts from 40 - 50 pounds to and from floor to waist level on an occasional basis
• Frequently bends squats and twists.
• Reaches occasionally to heights up to 2 feet overhead.
• Near-visual acuity with color discrimination for judging appearance and condition of foods and decipher fine print on menus.
• Auditory acuity sufficient to hear normal voice tone when not facing an individual or by phone.
• Possesses good general mental health; ability to follow oral and written instructions; ability to communicate effectively in both verbal and written form; ability to speak, read, and write in English.

Working Environment: Work is performed in a typical indoor kitchen environment: frequently exposed to hazards normally found in food service area (i.e. potential hazard from wet or slippery floors, cuts, burns, chemicals, ect.) and on patient care units.

Reporting Structure: Reports to the Director of Food Service and Clinical Nutrition Manager. In their absence, reports to Assistant Director or designee.

Disclaimer: These essential job functions are requirements of the position which must be performed either with or without reasonable accommodation. The essential job function list is intended to be a guide rather than a limitation. The Chambersburg Hospital possesses the right to add new responsibilities to the list as business demands dictate. Some of the essential job functions may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat/significant risk to the health and safety of themselves or others.

By identifying essential job functions, we are in no way stating or implying that these required tasks are the only activities that are to be performed by the employee occupying this position. In addition, employees will also be expected to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties that are included in the job description. The preceding requirements represent only the minimum acceptable levels of knowledge, skills, and/or abilities that a job incumbent must possess; in order to perform the job successfully, the incumbent will possess additional aptitudes so as to perform the other duties that the job description entails.

Revised Date: 12/23/2025