Rhode Island General Laws 5-64.1-6. Requirements for certification
(a)(1) The minimum qualifications of the person responsible for the direction of the food service department of a healthcare facility shall be a certified dietary manager, or a person eligible for certification as a certified dietary manager by the Dietary Manager’s Association (D.M.A.), or with another comparable body with periodic consultation on patient nutritional issues by a registered dietician or a person who can furnish written documentation from an employer that he or she has completed five (5) years or more experience in the capacity of dietary manager.
(2) In addition, the person:
(i) Must possess a high school diploma or a GED certificate;
(ii) May be an active member of the Dietary Manager’s Association; and
(iii) Must have successfully completed one year of practical work experience beyond one hundred fifty (150) hours included in the DM training program, in an institutional setting.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-64.1-6
- Dietary manager: means a person who:
(i) Integrates and applies principles with education and training at an accredited school, college, or university in purchasing, personnel practices, supervision of people, budgeting and finance, menu planning, and nutrition;
(ii) Directs and coordinates food-service activities of a hospital, nursing home, or a related facility;
(iii) Confers with dieticians to ensure that menus and department policies conform to nutritional standards and government and established regulations and procedures;
(iv) Reviews patient diet information and discusses requests, changes, and inconsistencies with the patient, professional staff, and/or resident food committee or council;
(v) Plans and coordinates through subordinate supervisors, standards and procedures of food storage, preparation, and service, department and equipment sanitation, employee safety, and personnel policies and procedures;
(vi) Inspects food and food preparation and storage areas with knowledge of health and sanitation regulations;
(vii) Tastes, smells, and observes food to ensure conformance with recipes and appearance standards;
(viii) Attends meetings with employees, department heads, administration, and dieticians to discuss regulations, procedures, grievances, and recommendations for improving food service;
(ix) Computes operating costs for own information and for information of administration;
(x) In the absence of the dietician, a certified dietary manager is responsible for the department; and
(xi) Oversees all therapeutic diets to be planned in writing, reviewed, approved, and dated by the qualified dietician. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-64.1-3
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
- Registered dietician: means any person registered to practice dietetics as specified by the commission of registration of the American Dietetic Association. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-64.1-3
(b) New graduates of DM-training programs may be required to join the Dietary Manager’s Association and then qualify to take the credentialing exam by:
(1) Possessing a high school diploma or a GED certificate; and
(2) Having successfully completed five (5) years’ experience in a managerial or supervisory capacity in an institutional setting.
History of Section.
P.L. 1990, ch. 352, § 1.