BBGH Dietary Manager Ana Duran enjoying new responsibilities

Pictured above are Cook Nenita Faber (left) and Dietary Manager Ana Duran.

Promoted to Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) Dietary Manager in January, Ana Duran is adjusting and thriving in her new role, considering she had no predecessor to train her on the tips and tricks of the Dietary Department. Ms. Duran said, “Some of the things I’m doing now are new for me, I didn’t have the training.” However, she added, “I keep my motivation. I always thank the employees every day because they are willing to do whatever it takes to improve their department.” 

Ms. Duran has been with BBGH for nine years and is a Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) and Certified Food Protection Professional (CFPP). Before being promoted to BBGH Dietary Manager, she was a lead cook for about five years. Some of her many responsibilities as the Dietary Manager include: making sure all the food stays at a safe temperature; keeping recipes standardized for every meal; making sure all patients get their prescribed diets; making sure the staff stays sanitary (wearing gloves and hair nets, washing hands, etc.); filling out paperwork; figuring out the cost of catering services for hospital events; making employee schedules; and creating the menu items, to name a few.

Ms. Duran’s day starts off by waking up earlier than she needs to so she can get to work early and make sure everything is prepared for that day. She first checks to make sure all her scheduled staff are present, then she looks to see what kinds of diets will need to be prepared for that day, as ordered by BBGH Dietitian Kristin Kesterson, RD. After that she: answers any questions from the staff; replies to emails and missed calls; looks at her staff’s timecards to make sure everything is correct; checks the cost of the food to see if there were any changes; and finally attend any in-services or meetings scheduled that day. Between all that, Ms. Duran and her staff deliver three meals every day to in-patients at 8 a.m., noon, and 5:30 pm which meet their dietary needs. “We strive for those delivery times every day,” Ms. Duran said.

However, sometimes that is a challenge because the Dietary Department is understaffed. “Scheduling right now is really, really hard… I just put my name on it!” Ms. Duran said with a chuckle. “We have six workers right now and we need 10 to 11.” Even with the scheduling challenges, Ms. Duran finds a way to keep everything up and running. She recently was able to restart The Lunch Box’s 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. lunches for employees and patient family members.

Not only does she keep things up and running smoothly, she finds joy in her day-to-day duties as well. “I enjoy doing the menus and working with the patients,” Ms. Duran stated. “Every day we try to make garnishes for the plates for the patients so they feel special. Patients are number one for us,” She has a passion for presentation (check the photo of one of her beautiful fruit bouquets). She believes that presentation plays an important role in the experience people have when they eat, explaining that “when you see food that looks good, it makes you think it’s going to taste good.”  Ms. Duran worked as a caterer for nearly 13 years before she started work at BBGH, so it is easy to see where her love for presentation comes from. She also has a love of international cuisine. “I have lived in and visited different countries and I’ve been introduced to different customs, languages, and most important, food!” she exclaimed. “Bizarre foods... I love trying new ingredients, techniques, and recipes from around the world. I get inspired!” She added that she is always observing when she goes to restaurants or parties to “see what they’re doing and how they do it.”

Ms. Duran’s plans for the future of the Dietary Department include hiring additional staff so they can increase the number of caterings. She said, “When I have all the people I need, we’re going to start doing all caterings and special events for the hospital.” She also hopes to get all her employees to be trained as she was. All dietary employees currently have to have Serve Safe Manager training (a two-day course), and the department as a whole has to meet the standards of The Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations.

But Ms. Duran wants her staff to be and learn even more. Recently, Ms. Duran had a professional chef from Sysco visit the Dietary department to show the staff a few simple techniques, like how to poach and fry an egg. “It’s simple but it’s not,” she said. “When you do one egg it’s different than when you do 24. Sysco has a lot of free in-services so I’m trying to get everything I can. Every month I’m going to try and do the same [bring a chef in] so we can keep growing. I need the staff to be professional, so every time we have an opportunity to learn something new, I’m on it.”

When Ms. Duran isn’t working, she’s still getting a workout. “I love to exercise… such as yoga and walking,” Ms. Duran said. She gets a workout while she’s working as well, often walking 6.5 miles or more every day. She also participates in BBGH’s Wellness program and is a member of the hospital’s Operationally Advanced Service Improvement Systems (OASIS) team.

Ms. Duran has lived in Alliance for 11 years, has three children, Alejandro, Ana Lucia, Sophia, and helps her husband, Luis, maintain the apartments they own in town.

Box Butte General Hospital is an equal opportunity provider and employer.