Milk Preparation Technician - Children's Inpatient Milk Lab - Per Diem Evenings (3:15pm-11:45pm)

Our team members are the heart of what makes us better. At Hackensack Meridian Health we help our patients live better, healthier lives — and we help one another to succeed. With a culture rooted in connection and collaboration, our employees are team members. Here, competitive benefits are just the beginning. It’s also about how we support one another and how we show up for our community. Together, we keep getting better - advancing our mission to transform healthcare and serve as a leader of positive change.

The Milk Preparation Technician will perform all duties necessary to ensure breast milk, donor milk, and infant formulas are prepared accurately and efficiently. Under the direction of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Dietitian, the dietetic technician will coordinate all daily activities of the milk room. The tech will be responsible for the calculation, preparation, and delivery of the feeding orders. The tech is responsible for complying with all of Hackensack University Medical Center and the Department of NICU policies and regulations to the operation of the milk room.

• Accurately calculates, prepares, and dispenses calculated volume of human milk, formula and additives as ordered.
• Uses correct techniques to measure liquids and solids.
• Uses established procedures and recipes for calculating human milk and formula
• Appropriately labels prepared human milk and formula bottles.
• Receives breast milk and keeps appropriate documentation of receipt and storage.
• Collects human milk from fridges/freezers in the unit.
• Rotates all breast milk in freezer FIFO (First IN, First Out Method) unless otherwise indicated by Dietitian and/or Lactation Consultant.
• Collect daily feeding orders for each baby and prints accurate labels for each feeding.
• Calculate amounts of fresh and frozen human milk required for a 12-hr period for each baby.
• Delivers prepared feedings to designated location.
• Inventories lab supplies, formulas, and enteral feeding equipment as needed.
• Maintains necessary par levels and monitors expiration of products and formulas.
• Maintains inventory of donor milk.
• Follows aseptic technique and infection control policies/practices, regulatory agency requirements, including OSHA, and HAACP plan for formula and human milk preparation.
• Maintains a clean work area.
• Ensures that equipment is in working order and takes action when problems are identified.
• Monitors recipes, preparation, and labeling for accuracy.
• Discusses milk volume with mothers as needed and communicates abnormal ranges to the Dietitian and/or Lactation consultant.
• Communicates with nurses, medical staff, and dietitian regarding discrepancies with feeding orders, storage, or administration.
• May conduct in-services and participate in the orientation and training of staff.
• May participate in the development and measurement of outcomes for the NICU, including quality assurance reports.
• Maintains competence of required skills and current knowledge in the filed by participating in on-site training and external training programs.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.
• Adheres to the standards identified in the Medical Center's Organizational Competencies.

Education, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Knowledge of computers.
• Good mathematical skills.

Education, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred:

• Associate's degree in nutrition, food service, or a related field.
• 6-12 months of clinical work experience.
• Knowledge of EPIC clinical system.