MFNS Spring 2010

Market-LinkA quarterly publication of the Management in Food and Nutrition Systems Dietetic Practice Group

Volume 28 No. 2 Spring 2010

MAM, RD:First, a global question, then we’llmove on to more operationalspecifics. What, in your view, will bethe impact of the proposed healthcarereform on hospital revenues?

RA, CFO:We can’t be sure of the final overall impactuntil more details come out but we doknow that more individuals will be coveredby some type of insurance coverage. Wealso know that we will collect from theseplans in the future where, in the past,charity services were provided to many ofthese individuals. On the other hand, weexpect to see reductions to the annual in-flationary increases we have received forMedicare payments. We also expect tosee reductions in payments that we havebeen receiving for providing care to unin-sured patients as a disproportionate careprovider. What is unknown at this point isthe impact this will have with negotiatingpayment rates to the major insurancecompanies whose premium income and

payment structures will be altered by thehealthcare legislation as well.

MAM, RD:Foodservice departments are a“three-legged stool”with regards tocontrollable financials; the first beingcash revenue and two major expensecategories of food, supplies and labor.How would rank these in terms ofimportance for a foodservicedirector (FSD)?

RA, CFO:1st: Labor: Because salary dollars are

the major expense in a healthcareorganization.

2nd: Food and Supplies: The FSD is the mostknowledgeable and best equippedperson to manage these expenses. Thereare many opportunities to realize ex-pense savings with a proper programto manage these expenditures.

In thIs Issue1, 2As the CFO

3MFNS: Building to the Future

Welcome (once again),Susan McGinley, MBA,RD -Chair, MFNS 2010-2011

4Your New Market-LinkCo-Editors

5Introduction of the Standardsof Professional Performance,For Dietitians in Managementof Food and Nutrition Systems

Kudos to Our Members

6MFNS Officers 2010-11

7,8Off the Book Shelf

9What is the Membership Sayingabout MFNS? Results of theMembership survey 2010

11Executive Committee SpringMeeting Highlights

12DPG Newsletter Database

An interview with Randy Allen, Chief Financial OfficerThe Ohio State University Hospital and Richard M. Ross HeartHospital, The Ohio State University Medical Center

Conducted by Mary Angela Miller, MS, RD, LD, FADA, MFNS 2010-11Treasurer, Administrative Director Nutrition Services at OSUMC

continued on page 4

Randy Allen has been at Ohio State for nineteen years. He is a memberand past president of the Central Ohio Chapter of the Healthcare FinancialManagement Association (HFMA). As CFO, Randy has managed throughconstant change in the healthcare industry, and through highs andlows in the economy. Randy agreed to answer questions generatedby management dietitians.

Ask the CFO

Market-Link Spring 20102

3rd: Revenue: Revenue is what resultsfrom managing everything else. It willtake care of itself, if the other processesare managed well.

MAM, RD:Since labor is the priority, what is thecost of turnover to an organizationand how is this cost determined?

RA, CFO:We’re fortunate that the Medical Center ison the OSU campus, which is among thelargest in the country. The opportunity tomove within, up and across the entire uni-versity helps us attract and keep a loyalworkforce. The economy has resulted in alower turnover rate. So from a financialperspective, managing overtime hoursand temporary staff are more critical func-tions right now, than managing turnover.Our human resources department doesmonitor turnover rates, but not turnovercosts and I don’t think these are a significantissue for us at the present time.

MAM, RD:What financial competencies do youexpect a qualified FDS to have?

RA, CFO:Several skills come to mind:

A skilled director should have the ability toobtain favorable pricing for raw food costsfor the organization and the ability to pre-pare and deliver food service for a reason-able, competitive cost. The director needsto be knowledgeable about which pur-chasing groups our organization belongsto and how to leverage those relationshipsand contracts in order maximize our buy-ing dollars. This includes negotiating pur-chase price and utilizing early paymentand consolidated delivery discount op-tions, also smart inventory management:to keep enough inventory on hand tomeet requirements but minimize cost.

FDS must understand how their depart-mental costs impact the organization as awhole. We all are part of a single medicalcenter entity. If, for example, a departmentwants to apply a “mark-up” for a servicethey provide to another department just to

inflate their profit margin, they need tounderstand that there is no benefit to theorganization for this paper dollar transfer.In some cases, it may actually create anegative, because it artificially increasesthe roll up cost of goods and service.

MAM, RD:How do you recommend adjustingbudgeted expenses and salary costswhen revenues and customer vol-umes vary from budget amounts?

RA, CFO:During the budget process, volumes arepredicted based on estimated total patientdays. This is true for many hospital de-partments including Nutrition Services.

Once the budget is established, we use aproductivity system that balances andcompares actual volumes with the laborhours associated with providing them.If the number of meals served or retailcafé transactions varies from budget, thenumber of worked hours and salarydollars flexes up or down accordingly.Variances in food and supply costs canbe justified if they are comparable tothe variance in volumes.

MAM, RD:What support does FinancialServices provide to FSDS?

RA, CFO:We like to consider ourselves an In-housefinancial consulting group. We can assistwith creating business plans and financialplans. Having uniform and defined sys-tems in place has allowed us to be betterforecasters to monitor our fiscal health.The more familiar the department direc-tors are with the process, the more accu-rate our systems will be. We offer annualbudget and productivity system trainingfor new managers to explain budgetresponsibilities so they can be moreknowledgeable as they participate andcontribute in the budget process. We alsowork with managers when we submitdata for benchmarking purposes andwhen reviewing our results in comparisonto other organizations.

Ask the CFO

continued from page 1

MAM, RD:Do you consider foodservice an ex-pense or revenue source and is retailfoodservice expected to contributeto the organization’s bottom line?

RA, CFO:The majority of our customers are ourstaff members. Our goal is the same asthat of the Nutrition Services Department:to provide our employees the best valuewe can at a reasonable price.

The financial goal for our retail foodservice is to meet IRS requirements bycovering direct costs without beingsubsided by the Medical Center.

MAM, RD:Are you among the staff thatfrequents Nutrition ServicesSeasons Café?

RA, CFO:Yes I am. My favorite item on the menuis chicken tenders with honey mustardsauce.

MAM, RD:Chicken tenders are the mostpopular menu item we serve, soRandy is one of our many satisfiedcustomers.

Acknowledgements:Thank you to the following MFNS mem-bers who submitted questions for theCFO: Rita Berthelsen, PhD, RD, LMNT;Patti Dollarhide, RD, LD; Linda Horace,RD, LD; Linda Lafferty, PhD, RD, ; SueMcGinley, MBA, RD; Char Norton, MS,RD, FADA, FCSI, FHCFA; and Patti Oliver,MBA, RD, LD.

Mary Angela Miller, MS,RD, LD, FADA, MFNS2010-11 Treasurer,Administrative DirectorNutrition Services atOSUMC

3Spring 2010 Market-Link

MFNS: Building to the Future

With the transition of the American DieteticAssociation Board membership each June1, the final Chair’s column usually reflectson the past years accomplishments andoffers a preview to the next years DPOGPlan of Work. A cursory review of our2009-2010 achievements includes:

� Medallion Award for Past Chair JoyceScott-Smith, MS, RD, LDN

� Excellence in Management Practiceto Bill Barkley, MBA, RD, FADA

� Banner Year for Friends Membershipand Financial Support

� Pre-FNCE Gathering at the BreckenridgeBrewery where over 50 MNFS Membersand friends had a delightful lunch withgreat camaraderie

� 2010 - Comprehensive membershipsurvey showing the awesome powerour 1,200 members have in their cur-rently held positions. Our purchasingpower is unique in ADA as our supplyand equipment decisions are the high-est dollar volume of any DPG. A fullanalysis of this survey is in process. Theresponse was extremely high. A bigthank you to all who responded.

New for 2010 – 2011:� a completely new state of the art Web

Site will be constructed and launched� a new student membership category

has been created� work has begun to create subgroups

for retail foodservice and college anduniversity foodservice.

CHANGING OF THE GUARDThe time has come to say good-bye tothe following members who have helpedMFNS for so many years:

Nancy Bowen, MBA, RD, LD - PastSecretary and Chair

Ruby Puckett, MA, FCSI – Most recentlySOPP Project Director and PublicationEditorial Review Coordinator. Ruby willcontinue to act as a resource to our newco-editors to the Market-Link.

Patti Oliver, MS, RD, MBA -Three yearDirector at Large and Champion of ourMentoring Program

Gary Kawula, RD, MPA, Chair of DPG 41

Welcome (once again), Susan McGinley,MBA, RD -Chair, MFNS 2010-2011

Susan McGinley accepted the Chair’sgavel from Gary Kawula at the close of theMFNS Executive Committee spring meet-ing in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will beginher term as our Chair on June 1st, 2010.

Sue began her professional career as theClinical Nutrition Manager of a 225 bedhospital in Ithaca, NY. Sue and her teamcreated innovative patient educationalprograms including a puppet show onthe value of a healthy diet. Within a yearshe was promoted to director andworked closely with construction consult-ants in the final phase of designing thekitchen in a new hospital. It was a chal-lenging opportunity and she is particu-larly proud that the Foodservice

department was the first to move intothe new hospital and operate all services.

From Ithaca, Sue moved to New York Cityafter accepting the position of assistantdirector of a 500 bed acute care hospital.Within days of starting, a formal uniondrive was underway. Over the next yearshe learned from experience and train-ings about unions and the process of or-ganizing workers. .

Sue moved to Philadelphia and workedfor a 200 bed acute care facility as direc-tor and stayed there for many years. Itwas during this time she joined the lead-ership of DPG #41 as newsletter editor.Sue was soon elected to the offices of

treasurer and chair. As the youngestmember of the Executive Committee, Suedeveloped new management skills. Sheworked with the early leaders of the prac-tice group and had the opportunity toparticipate in the group who created theproductivity measurement tool. Lookingback, in addition to developing newskills, there was a great advantage inlearning to work effectively in the com-mittee system. Sue received mentoringby the Executive Committee membersand determined that a MBA was the ad-vanced degree to earn. These insightshave had a great impact on her careerand the opportunities that eventuallycame her way.

Gary Kawula, RD, MPA, Chair of DPG 41

continued on page 5

4 Market-Link Spring 2010

While raising her children, Sue assumedthe position of instructor of the programsfor Registered Dietetic Technician andDietary Managers at Philadelphia Com-munity College. She enjoyed teachingand the diverse student body that wasso eager to learn.

After a few years Sue decided that shewanted to practice dietetics and food-service management again, so shejoined Marriott, which subsequentlybecame Sodexo. She started as a clinicalnutrition manager (CNM) at a singlehospital and then moved to the positionof CNM of a two-hospital system andassumed the role of district supportdietitian. She developed bed side menumanagement which eliminated theneed for a diet office and began theearly stages of room service. She alsoworked with an interdisciplinary team ofnurses, social workers, and others in thedevelopment of a discharge planningmodel that was published in NursingManagement magazine. Other innova-tive projects during this time includedthe development of a hand-held nutritionassessment calculator and a quality carecommunication tool that was recognizedby the Hospital Association ofPennsylvania.

Sue accepted yet another CNM positionwith three hospitals and a long term carefacility. She led an interdisciplinary teamresponsible for the development of aproactive nutrition support ordering sys-tem for TPNs. The system enabled thedoctors and interns to order the best for-mula with a low percentage of error. Dr.George Blackburn, M.D., Ph.D professorof surgery and nutrition at Harvard Med-ical School, conducted a review of thehospitals’ nutrition support program andapplauded the team’s accomplishment.

The next position that Sue accepted washer “dream job.” She was responsible forsupporting the nutrition programs for85 hospitals managed by Sodexo inPennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware andWest Virginia. She thoroughly enjoyedthe opportunity to network, mentor,drive quality, improve patient satisfac-tion, and work with many competent di-etitians and foodservice professionals.

Her next career step came when she wasoffered the position of Sodexo’s nationaldirector for Senior Services Nutrition.The job entailed advanced leadershipresponsibilities in the national marketand frequent travel. Again opportunityknocked and Sue was offered a positionworking with the Sodexo international

seniors market. In this position sheworks with the leaders of seniors pro-grams around the world in a planningand research role. She enjoys workingwith people from many countries withhealth care systems that are impactedby their cultures and political systems.

Three years ago Sue became active againon the Executive Committee of MFNSas treasurer and then chair-elect. In thepast year she has worked to spearheadthe membership survey and lead the Ex-ecutive Committee in revising the strate-gic plan. She is committed to fostering aninteractive network for the membershipand working with the Executive Commit-tee in providing webinars, mentoringopportunities, an updated Web site,improved communication andcontinuation of our valuable news-letter, the Market-Link.

Sue has been married to Vince McGinleyfor 23 years. She has two children: Herson Stephen will be starting graduateschool for physical therapy; and herdaughter Lynn, a sophomore in college,will be studying in Paris this fall.

Thank you for coming back to MFNS, Sue!!

Submitted by: Linda Horace

Welcome (once again), Susan McGinley, MBA, RD -Chair, MFNS 2010-2011


Joyce Scott-Smith, MS, RD and BrendaSheridan, MS, RD, LD are very excitedand honored to be your new co-editorsfor the Market-Link newsletter. By work-ing together as a team, they plan to con-tinue to make the Market-Link the mostvalued tool for our members. Joyce andBrenda both bring some of the same,but many different perspectives andexperiences to this job. Joyce is theDirector of the Food and NutritionDepartment and Dietetic Internship ofthe very large, multi-site University of

Pittsburgh Medical Center PresbyterianShadyside in Pittsburgh, PA. Brenda isthe clinical director of the Nutrition Ther-apy Department and Internship Precep-tor in the rural East Texas Medical Centerin Jacksonville, TX. Joyce is responsiblefor 127 FTEs while Brenda superviseseleven employees. Joyce was instru-mental in starting the Patient ControlledLiberalized Diet Program in 2004. Brendawas the first in eastern Texas to providethe Spoken Menu program in 1996.Both have written articles, presented

programs, and been very involved in theirstate and local dietetic associations. Hav-ing studied results of the very important2010 MFNS Member Survey, they plan touse this data to help assure that the Mar-ket-Link contains useful, up-to-date infor-mation for food and nutrition leadersand those preparing for this rewardingfield. Please feel free to contact Joyce [email protected] and/or Brendaat [email protected] suggestions or comments onimprovements for the Market-Link.

Your New Market-Link Co-EditorsBrenda Sheridan, MS, RD, LD

continued on page 6


Introduction of the Standards of ProfessionalPerformance, For Dietitians in Managementof Food and Nutrition Systems

In March 2009 the Standards of Profes-sional Performance for RegisteredDietitians (Generalist and Advanced) inManagement of Food and Nutrition Sys-tems was published in the Journal of theAmerican Dietetic Association (Volume 109Number 3). The process of developingthese standards took over two years ofcommittee work. The Committee wascomposed of educators, consultants, andfoodservice directors from the VeteransAdministration, small independent, andlarge university hospitals, manufacturerepresentatives, and an intern who wascompleting her internship. This groupof dedicated registered dietitians repre-sented numerous geographical locations.The Committee followed the ADA

Standards of Professional Performance(SOPP) developing and adapting indica-tors specific to food and nutrition systemsfor each of the six core standards.

Core Standard 1: Provision of servicehad eleven indicators with the Rationalebeing a registered dietitian in manage-ment utilizes manpower, machines,money, and innovative approaches toexceed both internal and external cus-tomer needs and expectations. Underthis main indicator there are eight state-ments in support of the Core Indicator.For example, 1.9 states, “maintains budg-ets, financial analysis and other financialreports” and 1.9H states “conducts finan-cial analysis and audits for all financial

functions; e.g., budgets, products, sup-plies and equipment. All these eight areat the advanced level, while only threewould be expected of a generalist.

There have been requests from our mem-bers for methods on how a generalist canbecome an advanced foodservice manager.

Reference:1. Puckett, RP, Barkley, William, Dixon, G,

et al. American Dietetic AssociationStandards of Professional Performancefor Registered Dietitians (Generalistand Advanced) in Management of Foodand Nutrition Systems. Journal of theAmerican Dietetic Association. Vol 109No. 3, March 2009. 540-543, e 13.

Ruby P. Puckett, MA, FCSI, Chair, SOPP Committee and President, Foodservice Management Consultants, Program Director,Dietary Manager Training, University of Florida

The Robert Pacifico Memorial “DoingWell by Doing Good” Award presentedby Foodservice Consultants Society -The Americas to individuals who haveconsistently shown dedication, support,and leadership to their community aswell as to the hospitality industry, traitsfor which Bob Pacifico was so wellknown. This award was presented toRuby at the combined world-wide andAmericas conference in Minneapolisearlier this year..

Ruby was recognized for her many yearsof service to the foodservice industry asa leader, author, educator, and as an op-erational manager. She served for 27years as director of food and nutritionalservices at Shands Hospital at the Uni-

versity of Florida and has been the pro-gram director of the two time nationalaward winning Dietary Manager TrainingProgram, offered through Flexible Edu-cation at the University of Florida. Sheis known in the foodservice industry asa teacher, with knowledge and desireto pass it on to help others reachtheir potential.

Ruby has held leadership roles in manyprofessional organizations, receiving thehighest honors in each for her dedica-tion and leadership. She has given over400 presentations to professional organi-zations in Canada and in the UnitedStates, published over 425 articles, manyof them peer-reviewed, and 12 books. Inaddition, she has written six chapters in

other books. Currently Ruby serves onfour editorial boards and leads the firsteditorial board for the FCSI-TheAmericas Quarterly.

Ruby’s service to her community includesserving on numerous boards, includinga member of the Gainesville Commis-sion on the Status of Women. She servesher church working with young womengroups. Ruby has stated that “I’ve beenblessed with so much and I feel that it ismy responsibility to give back whenand wherever I can.”

Ruby is married to Larry Willard Puckett.They have two daughters, six grandchil-dren and four great-grandchildren.Ruby and Larry live in Gainesville, FL.

Kudos to Our MembersRuby Puckett, MA, RD, CFE, FCSI, Receives the 2010 Robert Pacifico Award


MFns Officers 2010-11Chair – 2010-2011 (V)Sue McGinley, MBA, RDE – [email protected]

Chair-Elect 2010-2011 VRita Berthelsen, PhD, RD, LMNTE – [email protected]

Immediate Past Chair 2010-2011 VGary Kawula, MPA, RDE – [email protected]

Secretary 2010-2011 VLynnette Jones, MBA, MS, RDE – [email protected] – [email protected]

Publications Co-EditorJoyce Scott-Smith, MS, RD, LDNE – [email protected]

Publications Co-EditorBrenda Sheridan MS, RD, LDE – [email protected]

Treasurer 2009-2011 VMary Angela Miller, MS, RD, LD, FADAE – [email protected]

Nominating Chair-Elect 2009-2011Pam Ferguson, RDE – [email protected]

Nominating Chair-Elect 2010-2012Sara (Sally) Freese, RDE – [email protected]

Director at Large 2009-2011 VTamie Frable-Newman MS, RD, LD, LDNE – [email protected]

Director at Large 2010-2012 VAmanda Goldman, MS, RD, LDE – [email protected]

Awards CommitteeInez Speranza, RD, LDN

ADA Professional Issues DelegateKathleen Niedert, PhD, MBA, RD, CSG, LDE – [email protected]

Special Advisor-Member BenefitsChar Norton, MS, RD, FADA, FCSI, FHCFAE – [email protected]

ADA DPG Relations ManagerLisa Sands, MSE – [email protected]

Patti Dollarhide, RD, LD - Outgoing Chairof the MFNS nominating committee.

Joyce Scott-Smith, MS, RD, LDN, willnow assume the demanding position ofCo-Editor of the Market-Link.

Bill Evers - Bill will be dearly missed. Billis a professor at Purdue University and hasbeen the DPG’s sole IS department.Thankyou, Bill, for all the incredible work youhave accomplished for us over many years.

Linda Horace, RD, LD - Last but notleast, Linda is the only member with 26consecutive years as a voting ExecutiveCommittee member. Linda has beenthe Chairs’ right arm in all decisions. Weare always attentive to her stories of theDPG early years. To paraphrase GeneralDouglas Macarthur, “Old EC membersnever die they are just recycled”.

TRANSITIONS:Rita Berthelsen, PhD, RD, LMNT –Many years and much hard work as edi-tor of our Market-Link. Rita will nowmove up to the position of Chair-Electand act as a resource to our new co-edi-tors to the Market-Link.

Brenda Sheridan, MS, RD, LD, will tran-sition from Director at Large to the verydemanding position of Co- Editor of theMarket-Link. Brenda has been a tremen-dous asset to the board, composingblast e-mails, writing articles for Market-Link, and providing great award ideas.

WELCOME NEW EC MEMBERS:A fond welcome to Sally Freese, RD.Sally joins us as Chair of the NominatingCommittee. Sally has worked as a Clini-cal Dietitian, Food Service Director andLife Counselor at several Upper Mid-west locations. She has experience withcontract companies and as an inde-

pendent. Currently she is a multi-de-partment director at St Mary’s HealthSystem in Duluth, Minnesota, and re-sides on the shore of Lake Superior.

Amanda Goldman, MS, RD, LD, is thenewest appointed Director at Large.Amanda currently is multi-facility Direc-tor of Food and Nutrition in the StJoseph Health System in Lexington,Kentucky. Amanda is the Past Presidentof the Kentucky Dietetic Association.

A SPECIAL THANKS:I want to express a very special thankyou to all the Executive Committeemembers who generously committedso much of their time to ensure thegrowth and prosperity of our DPG.

Special gratitude to Inez Speranza, RD,who again championed the cause of asuccessful Medallion Award to LindaLafferty, PhD, RD and the ManagementExcellence in Practice Award for PattiOliver, MS, RD, MBA. Thank you, Inez.

One more thank you and farewell. Wehave all heard the story of how theactor Kevin Bacon can be connected tojust about every other actor/actress youcan mention. Former MFNS ExecutiveMember, James Rose, although longdeceased, remains well connected toall. In a very brief, less than five-minute,conversation with ADA President JessiePavalic, his memory comes up. At anyASHFSA meeting and most MFNS meet-ings, the memory of James’s greatnesscomes up. So to my friend Jim, thankyou for your mentoring and guidance.

I will now gladly handover the reins tothe amazing Sue McGinley. Sue hasambitious and exciting plans for thefuture of member services.

MFNS: Building to the Future



Most of the requests for information fromour member survey have been in thearea of financial support and knowledge.As a result, I searched for a book thatrelated directly to foodservice finance,and I found one published in 1984.I found another book that will providethe manager with financial managementbut is not specific to foodservice opera-tions. This book is Financial Intelligence:A Manager’s Guide to Knowing What theNumbers Really Mean, by Karen Bermanand Joe Knight with John Case; HarvardBusiness School Press, Boston, MA, 2006,255 pages; ISBN 1-59139-754-2 (hard-cover:alk. Paper) This book will be ofvalue to an advanced foodservicedirector, but some of the information isapplicable to both the generalist andthe advanced level. The book deals withunderstanding income statements, bal-ance sheets, cash flow, profit, revenues,and ratios. The examples are valuable.

Since I was unable to secure a specificbook for foodservice finance, I reviewedchapters in four other books and willprovide information for Finance Man-agement 201. (See reference books atthe end of the article).

The objective of any foodservice opera-tion is to develop and maintain thebudget while providing the best food,service, and efficiently using the allo-cated resources. To accomplish this goal,the manager must understand thebudgeting process and what controlswill need to be in place to the meet theproposed resources. I will not discussthe budgeting process as each organi-zation will have a procedure used intheir organization. It is prudent for thefoodservice director to be familiar withthis procedure.

There are many different types ofbudgets. A budget is a financial planthat commits and allocates resources toactivities, projects, and/or programs. Itis also an organized plan of operationfor a specified period of time, such as acalendar year—365 days, 12 months

from January 1 to December 31, or afiscal year, a period of twelve monthsused for accounting purposes that doesnot necessarily coincide with a calendaryear. It can begin and end on any date,but must include 365 days.

A budget also forecasts activities andincome, determines expenses and otherdisposition of funds and income, as wellas an estimate of the financial positionat the end of a specific time. It may alsoinclude units/cost of service andproductivity measures.

The type of budgeting procedure willdepend on the organization’s financialphilosophy. There are no uniformly de-fined budgetary terms. One or more ofthe following types may be used: Zero-based budgets are budgets in whichall projects or activities must competeanew for funds in each budget cycle. Itbegins with no previous figures and thendetermines outlays, cost and inflow forthe accounting period. Outlays are esti-mated cash expenditures and inflow isthe estimated cash income. Base-linebudgets are a budget that begin withthe previous budget period and adjuststhe figures for current conditions. Vari-able budgets are budgets that considerthe costs that may vary with volume.

Flexible budgets are budgets that mayneed to be changed due to a change inoperations, such as an increase in censusduring the winter, or a disaster that in-creases meal count, food, supply, andlabor cost. Fixed budgets are budgetsthat assume that the production (meals)and sales (revenue from all sources) willremain at the same level from the previ-ous budget time period. It also allocatesa fixed amount of resources for a specificpurpose, such as a purchase of largeequipment. Cash budgets are budgets(for nonprofit organizations) that forecasthow much cash is on hand and howmuch will be needed. Revenue budgetsare budgets that project how muchmoney will be made for the budgetingperiod. For a nonprofit organization, this

means all monies generated by revenueproducing departments within the or-ganization.

Expense budgets, also known as oper-ating budgets, are budgets that list allthe activities that will occur during theaccounting period (food, supplies, labor,etc.), and then allocates dollars to each.Financial budgets are budgets thatproject cash flow and expenditures.

Non-monetary budgets are budgetsthat allocate resources such as labor,equipment and space, and are expressedin non-financial terms such as labor hoursand outputs such as units of service.Capital budgets are planning for a largeexpenditure whose returns are expectedto extend beyond one year; e.g. adishwasher.

There are other financial processes thatrelate to the budgeting process.They include:

Budget balance sheet is a type ofcontrol of budgets that illustrates theorganization’s financial condition on aparticular date. It illustrates what theorganization’s assets are and how theyare balanced against its liabilities.

Assets are what are owned by the organ-ization such as equipment, buildings,land, and cash. Current assets includeanything that can be turned into cash inless than a year. Long-term assets arethose that have a useful life of more thana year, such as the building or largepieces of equipment.

Accounts receivable is the amountcustomers owe the organization andhave yet to be collected, such as a billfor surgery.

Liabilities are the financial obligations acompany or organization owes to others,and are divided into two categories: cur-rent liabilities are those paid off in lessthan a year, and long-term liabilities arethose that come due over a longertime frame.

OFF the BOOK SHELFRuby P. Puckett, President MA, FCSI, Foodservice Management Consultants, Program Director, Dietary Manager Training, University of Florida


Variances are the difference betweenwhat was budgeted and what was spent.It is imperative that variances be identi-fied and a method devised to find out“why” they occurred, and a procedureto correct the variance.

In foodservice operations, the mostimportant budget is the operatingbudget. The operating budget describes,in financial terms, the foodservicedepartment’s plan for operating for aspecific period of time. The operatingbudget is a tool that is used to assistthe foodservice director in comparingmonthly expenses, revenues, units ofservice, and productivity indicatorsagainst last month and projected totals.When variances occur, the director candetermine why and make changes tocorrect them. In some instances, thedirector may need to meet with his/hersuperior and the financial officer tomake adjustments to the budget.This is the most important financialtool in the foodservice operation.

There are costs that may be chargedto the foodservice department. Thesecharges are usually based on a percentof the total cost to the organization andinclude: energy cost, water usage/cost,security, maintenance (other than a spe-cific contract made by the department),pest control (when there is one contractfor the entire organization), and wastemanagement. In some organizations, apercent of the labor cost of administration,human resource, and other non-revenueproducing departments may be chargedback to the department. These chargesare considered indirect cost. These areservices provided by others that areused by the foodservice department.

Depreciation is the method used byfinancial officers to allocate the cost ofequipment and other assets to the totalcost of products and services over theestimated useful life of the asset; e.g.dishwasher cost $10,000, deprecation$1,000 per year and at the end of 10years the machine would be valued onthe books at $0.

There are reports and records that needto be maintained to complete a monthlyperformance report. They include:

� Records of meals served to patientsand non patients

� Records of purchasing, receiving,inventory and issuance, includingthe monthly raw food cost

� Production forecast and records

� Labor records, including monthlylabor cost

� Records of overhead cost, supply costand miscellaneous costs

� Records of revenues from patients andnon patient sources

There are other performance and controlrecords that need to be maintained.Some examples include: monthly per-formance reports, budget variancereports, overtime usage, turnover rate,quality control reports, productivityreports, and orientation and in-serviceeducation reports. The number andkinds of reports will vary fromorganization to organization.

The information included in this articlemay or may not apply to all organizationsand is only a thumb-nail sketch of finan-cial management. If more information,questions and answers are neededon this topic, please e-mail me [email protected] and I willanswer them in the next issue.

References:1. Puckett, RP, Barkley, William, Dixon, G,

et al. American Dietetic AssociationStandards of Professional Performancefor Registered Dietitians (Generalistand Advanced) in Management ofFood and Nutrition Systems. Journal ofthe American Dietetic Association. Vol109 No. 3, March 2009. 540-543, e 13.

2. Berman, K Knight, J. with Case, J.Financial Intelligence A Manager’sGuide to Knowing What the NumbersReally Mean. Boston, MA: HarvardBusiness School Press, 2006.

3. Keisert, J. DeMicco FJ. With Grimes, RN.Contemporary Management Theory,Controlling and Analyzing Costs inFoodservice Operations. 4th ed. UpperSaddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000.Chapter 20 and 23.

4. Lombardi, DM, Schermerhorn, JR,with Kramer BE. Health Care Manage-ment. New York, NY: John Wiley &Sons, Inc., 2007: 109, 170-171.

5. Puckett RP, Food Service Manual forHealth care Institutions. 3rd ed. SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey –Bass an imprintof John Wiley. 2004 Chapter 11.(3rd edition is being revised).

6. Robbins, SP, Coulter, M. Management.10th ed. Upper Saddle, River, N.J.:Prentice Hall an imprint of PearsonPublishing. 2009. Pages 408, 474-475.

7. Information derived from serving twotimes as Chair and then as a Directoron a billion dollar credit union,Gainesville, FL.

OFF the BOOK SHELF


Oops, our mistake!We would like to make a correction tothe article, “A Joint Commission Insight”,Winter Edition, Marketlink. The correctwording should read:

The top three languages cited as spokenby patients that were cared for in thetheir hospitals were English (88%),Spanish ((88%) and American SignLanguage ( 48%).


continued on page 10

Thank you to the 191 members whotook the time to complete the MFNSsurvey this winter. The information isproviding valuable information to theExecutive Committee as we revise thestrategic plan and focus on what is im-portant to our membership.

Our “typical” member is a Registered Di-etitian with the American Dietetic Asso-ciation who has an advanced degreeand is 46 years of age or older. Sheworks at a 100-200 bed hospital or longterm care facility and has been at herjob between 1 and 5 years. Sixty per-cent of those responding were foodser-vice directors, foodservice managersand administrative dietitians, 30 per-

What is the Membership Saying about MFNS?Results of the Membership survey 2010e McGinley, MBA, RD

cent vary from professors to multi-ser-vice managers to executives and the re-maining 10 percent are in other roles.

Sixty percent of the respondents in themember survey are responsible for pur-chasing food and supplies in their posi-tion. Almost half use a group purchasingorganization. Survey members annuallypurchase $1,681K of food; $589K of papersupplies; $432K of chemicals; $413K ofsmall wares and $633K of large equipment.This equates to $3,747K of purchases inthe past year. Additionally, 46 percent ofthose completing the survey plan to ren-ovate or have new construction in thenext three years. Extrapolating to thetotal membership of DPG 41 and assum-

ing the same percentages hold true,our members will purchase $22,054,029of food and supplies next year withoutincluding a cost of living increase.

We are proud to say that 46 percent ofour membership has been a memberfor six or more years. Another 35 per-cent have been members for one to fiveyears. We are one of the first practicegroups to be recognized by the Ameri-can Dietetic Association (ADA) and asignificant number of our membershave been leaders in ADA. Many haveheld national Board of Director offices,and/or received the Excellence in Man-agement Practice, the Medallion, andthe Copher awards. We plan on rolling

What is the primary area of your work? Member interest in services


74 percent rating them high or moder-ate value. The website was rated 71percent and the listserve 64 percenthigh or moderate value. The ExecutiveCommittee is now working to upgradethe website and planning new webi-nars in the upcoming year. We are alsoplanning a monthly e-mail starting inJune to provide time sensitive and use-ful information for our membership.

We are pleased with many people whovolunteered to get more active with the

out a mentoring program this year tooffer the experienced member an op-portunity to share with newer leadersand foster growth for both.

Eighty-four percent of the respondentsfind the Market-Link our best value. Wehave been very fortunate to have his-tory of excellent editors including RubyPuckett MA, FCSI, RD and Rita Berthelsen,PhD, RD, LMNT and as they step “down”we thank them both for their years ofextraordinary service. The webinarswere the next most valued service with

practice group. Our Executive Commit-tee is always looking for new and dedi-cated members that will bring ideasand energy to the practice group. Fi-nally, a sincere thank you to the manythat shared their thoughts and/or ex-pressed appreciation to the ExecutiveCommittee. It is a great group to bepart of and we hope to see you againnext year. If you want a copy of the sur-vey send your request and email ad-dress to: [email protected].

What is the Membership Saying about MFNS? Results of the Membership survey 2010


How long have you been amember of MFNS DPG #41? Expenditures over the past year


� MFNS Treasurer Mary Angela Miller,MS, RD, LD, FADA, reported that rev-enues are ahead of budget and that ex-penses are on target. MFNS is nowbeginning to see financial returns fromADA invested reserves once again.

� MFNS Director-at-Large Tamie Frable-Newman MS, RD, LDN, shared that sheis spearheading the development ofmarketing materials including a re-vised MFNS brochure.

� MFNS Member Benefits Advisor CharNorton, MS, RD, FADA, FCSI, FHCFA,announced that 6 webinars will beoffered to members this year. The firstwebinar is scheduled for June 2010.

� MFNS Director-at-Large, Brenda Sheridan,MS, RD, LD, proposed a revision to thescholarship that is offered through theADA Foundation. The scholarshipaward will provide a $1500 stipend fora member to attend ADA’s LeadershipInstitute. The proposal was approved.Brenda, who is incoming publicationsco-editor, also proposed an award forthe best article submitted by amember to the Market-Link.

� MFNS Director-at-Large Patti Oliver,MS, RD MBA, reported that the Men-toring Program is ready for implemen-tation and will be announced in thenewsletter.

� MFNS Chair-Elect Sue McGinley, MBA,RD reported that membership is cur-rently 1116. The Program of Work (POW)for 2010-2011 is ready for ADA approval.Included in the POW is financial supportfor secretarial/administrative functions,8-10 Executive Committee conferencecalls and monthly email blasts with linksto the listserv and the Web site. Sue an-nounced that the Executive Committeewill meet in Boston, MA, November 5-6,2010, prior to FNCE. MFNS will once againparticipate in the ADA DPG Showcasescheduled for Monday, November 8th.

Executive Committee Spring Meeting HighlightsThe MFNS Executive Committee met in Las Vegas, NV, April 23-24, 2010.Highlights from the meeting minutes include:

� The MFNS Strategic Plan was devel-oped by the Executive Committee andwill be revised and approved at theBoston meeting. Highlights from theStrategic Plan will be published inthe winter issue of the Market-Link.

� MFNS is nominating the followingmembers for national awards: Char-nette Norton for the Marjorie HulziserCopher Award, Linda Lafferty for theMedallion Award and Patti Oliver forthe Excellence in ManagementPractice Award.

� Market-Link update: the winter 2010issue is now posted on the Web site.The spring, 2010 issue is in the finalstages of production. New ongoingfeature articles for upcoming newslet-ters were proposed including, Are YouInspection Ready?

� MFNS Nominating Committee ChairPam Ferguson, RD announced thatnominations are being sought for the2011 MFNS election. Positions on theballot: Chair-elect, Treasurer and Nomi-nating Committee Chair-elect.

� The MFNS DPG Relations ManagerLisa Sands submitted a report, whichstated that the DPG annual report isdue July 31, 2010. Financial datawill be attached to the report in lateAugust. The annual report will bedistributed to the membership whencomplete. MFNS was approved for aDPG delegate to the ADA House ofDelegates. The DPG Delegate’s threeyear term begins June 1, 2011. Lisa’sreport reiterated the DPG’s responsi-bility regarding listserv messages:discussion of fees is not allowed as itviolates antitrust laws and inappropri-ate messages, e.g., hostile exchanges,should be addressed by a DPG officialdirectly to the person involved offlineeither via a phone call or by sendingan email message directly to the per-son involved. Listserv etiquette rulesshould be posted on the listserv atleast quarterly as a reminder toparticipants.

� Sue McGinley has proposed the UCLAMedical Center as the site for the spring2011 Executive Committee meeting.

DPG Newsletter DatabaseLooking for an article from a past issue of a DPG newsletter? No need to sort through all your back issues. Just check theonline DPG Newsletter Database index to quickly locate the correct issue. This searchable database provides an index of food,nutrition and dietetics practice articles for most DPG newsletters beginning in 2000 through the present. You can even delveback into dietetics history as some titles are indexed as far back as the late 1980’s. Developed as a resource for members byADA’s Knowledge Center, the link to the database is located in the Food & Nutrition Information section of the Web site underFood & Nutrition Resources for Members. Or, go directly to http://www.eatright.org/Members/content.aspx?id=5361.

If the issue you need is missing from your collection, the ADA Library can provide a single copy of an article. There is alibrary fee of $5 per article for this service. To request an article or for more information contact the Knowledge Center [email protected].

120 South Riverside PlazaSuite 2000Chicago, Illinois 60606-6995

Market-Link is a management newsletter published quarterly (winter, spring, summer and fall) by the Management in Food and Nutrition Systems DieteticPractice Group (DPG) of the American Dietetic Association (ADA). 2010

Ethics OpinionEthics opinions reflect the interpretation or application of the ADA/CDR Code of Ethics for the Profession of Dieteticsby the Ethics Committee in response to a specific ethics issue or situation facing dietetics practitioners in practice.Opinions serve as an educational guide for conduct and are published in the Journal of the AmericanDietetic Association. http://www.eatright.org/About/Content.aspx?id=7996&terms=ethics+Opinions

What is an ethicsopinion and where

can I find one?

Market-Link is the newsletter of over 1,200 ADA members. It is published four timesa year, and read by decision-making dietitians and dietetic technicians throughoutthe United States. It is the target audience you are seeking. Market-Link is anexcellent advertising vehicle to reach this target audience.

Advertising rates:Corporate advertisingCorporate Sponsor—1/4 page ad in two newsletters: $350Corporate Sponsor—1/4 page ad in four newsletters: $650

MFns member display ratesMembers who are independent consultants or owners of their own business:1/4 page ad: $175 per newsletter: 1/8 page ad: $90 per newsletter1/8 page ad: $90 per newsletter

Classified advertisingAdvertisements will be limited to seminars, publications, services or productsoffered by approved members or professional associations, other ADA dieteticpractice groups, or individual MFNS members. 50 word limit: $25 per ad.

employment opportunity advertisingIndividual members may advertise job openings in management positions.50 word limit: $25 per ad. All copies, logos and art work must accompanythe editorial copy. Make checks payable to: American Dietetic Association—MFNS DPG 41. To place your ad or for more information, contact R. Berthelsen.

Market-Link is a management newsletter publishedquarterly (winter, spring, summer and fall) bythe Management in Food and Nutrition SystemsDietetic Practice Group (DPG) of the AmericanDietetic Association (ADA). 2010

Articles about successful management practices,interventions, strategies, educational materials,meeting announcements and information aboutfood and nutrition management are welcome andshould be sent to the publications editor by thenext deadline. Viewpoints, statements and publi-cation of advertisements should not be construedas endorsement by or reflecting policies/officialpositions of MFNS or ADA. Please forwardinformation and articles to Rita Berthelsen, PhD,RD, LMNT, at [email protected].

Subscription cost for persons non-eligible forADA membership are available by contactingthe Publications editor.

MFNS Spring 2010

Documents

Transcript of MFNS Spring 2010