Director, Clinical Nutrition, Day Shift, Full Time

Job Description

Central to all that California has to offer, Adventist Health Bakersfield has been providing an extraordinary team of world-class physicians, top-notch medical technology, caring professionals and award-winning quality since 1910. We are comprised of a 254-bed acute care hospital and 20 primary and specialty care medical offices. As one of America's fastest growing cities, Bakersfield offers affordable housing on the West Coast, beautiful weather, high-quality education and it is just a few hours away from Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, the Central California Coast and Southern California's great sports, theaters, concerts and amusement parks.

Job Summary:

Provides leadership and oversight for all facets of clinical nutrition services. Combines leadership, clinical expertise, and strategic management to develop and implement nutrition programs, supervises clinical dietitians and promotes evidence-based practices that support patient recovery, health, and wellness.. Oversees the activities of various levels of assigned personnel using both professional and supervisory discretion and independent judgment.

Job Requirements:

Education and Work Experience:

• Bachelor's Degree in Nutrition, Dietetics or related field or equivalent combination of education/related experience: Required
• Master's degree: Preferred
• Completion of an accredited dietetics program (ACEND - Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition Dietetics): Required
• Seven years' technical experience: Preferred
• Five years' leadership experience: Preferred

Licenses/Certifications:

• Registered Dietitian (RD/RDN) with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR): Required in CA (OR and HI equivalents required for employment in those states)
• SERV Safe Certification: Preferred
• Registered Dietitian (RD) certification: Required

Essential Functions:

• Supervises the activities of the Registered Dietitians in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Ensure departmental compliance with state, federal and accreditation standards and regulations. Develops and monitors quality improvement initiatives and metrics to enhance patient satisfaction and care outcomes. Conducts regular audits of clinical nutrition practices and documentation. Establishs and executes on departmental goals, policies, and procedures in alignment with hospital objectives. Provides leadership by overseeing, guiding, and assessing clinical nutrition staff to foster professional development and ensures excellence in performance.
• Allocates and directs staffing needs to meet patient, facility and departmental needs while collaborating with others to ensure overall clinical nutrition staffing needs are met at each facility. Manages and oversees the delivery of clinical nutrition care to inpatients including coordinating daily operations such as scheduling and recruitment. Monitors and maintains the department's budget to ensure efficient resource utilization. Advocates to expand and promote the role of clinical nutrition throughout each facility within the region. Collaborates with medical, pharmacy, and nursing teams to develop and refine policies & procedures. Develops and implements new nutrition programs and services based on emerging trends and patient population needs.
• Ensures the clinical nutrition team addresses patients/clients nutritional needs, in consideration of culture, physical capacity, individual preferences, religious background, financial resources and willingness/ability to comply. Oversees the appropriateness of nutrition support for parenteral nutrition versus enteral nutrition in consultation with team members from nursing, medical staff, pharmacy and patient's family, screening of patients for nutritional risk, with intervention activities as appropriate. Directs the coordination of plans for patients and families including the assessment of patients to detect those who are at nutritional risk, utilizing the Nutritional Care Process (NCP) in providing Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) via electronic documentation and providing nutritional education.
• Ensures the clinical nutrition team accurately documents patients' progress toward care plan goals in the medical record, educates patients/families on drug-nutrient interactions as appropriate, provides nutritional counseling on modified/therapeutic diets for patients and caregivers, and addresses all nutritional screening triggers per assessment policy requirements.
• Oversees patient nutrition services system including menu planning in compliance with policies and procedures and regulatory agencies (if nutrition services does not have an RD).
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Organizational Requirements:

Adventist Health is committed to the safety and wellbeing of our associates and patients. Therefore, we require that all associates receive all required vaccinations, including, but not limited to, measles, mumps, flu (based on the seasonal availability of the flu vaccine typically during October-March each year), COVID-19 vaccine (required in CA, HI and OR) etc., as a condition of employment, and annually thereafter. Medical and religious exemptions may apply.

About Us

Adventist Health is a faith-based, nonprofit, integrated health system serving more than 100 communities on the West Coast and Hawaii with over 440 sites of care, including 27 acute care facilities. Founded on Adventist heritage and values, Adventist Health provides care in hospitals, clinics, home care, and hospice agencies in both rural and urban communities. Our compassionate and talented team of more than 38,000 includes employees, physicians, Medical Staff, and volunteers driven in pursuit of one mission: living God's love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope.