Diet Clerk - Texas Behavioral Health Center

Medical Office / RecordsFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, call expectations and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

Texas Behavioral Health Center

The Texas Behavioral Health Center is a newly completed state-funded psychiatric hospital opening in Dallas’ Southwestern Medical District that is owned by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and operated by UT Southwestern Medical Center.

When fully operational, the 505,000-square-foot facility will house 292 beds – 200 for adult patients and 92 for children and adolescents. As DFW’s first state-funded behavioral health hospital, it is designed to deliver state-of-the-art, patient-centered care in a modern and healing environment.

The center provides comprehensive behavioral health treatment and features private patient rooms, abundant access to natural light and nature, and thoughtfully designed spaces that promote recovery. The hospital will also provide training to all behavioral health disciplines.

As employees of UT Southwestern, team members will join a world-class academic medical center committed to patient-centered care, innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and preparing patients for successful reintegration into their families and communities.

With competitive benefits and a mission-driven culture, Texas Behavioral Health Center offers an unparalleled opportunity to make a lasting impact on mental health care in North Texas. Learn more about Texas Behavioral Health Center here!

Why UT Southwestern?

With over 75 years of excellence in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, UT Southwestern is committed to excellence, innovation, teamwork, and compassion. As a world-renowned medical and research center, we strive to provide the best possible care, resources, and benefits for our valued employees.

Ranked as the number 1 hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth according to U.S. News & World Report, we invest in you with opportunities for career growth and development to align with your future goals.

Our highly competitive benefits package offers healthcare, PTO and paid holidays, on-site childcare, wage, merit increases and so much more. We invite you to be a part of the UT Southwestern team where you'll discover a culture of teamwork, professionalism, and a rewarding career!

Benefits

UT Southwestern is proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Our benefits are designed to support your overall wellbeing, and include:

  • PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage
  • 100%25 coverage for preventive healthcare-no copay
  • Paid Time Off, available day one
  • Retirement Programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
  • Paid Parental Leave Benefit
  • Wellness programs
  • Tuition Reimbursement
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Qualified Employer
  • Learn more about these and other UTSW employee benefits!

Experience and Education

Required

Education

  • High School Diploma or equivalent
  • Preferred

Experience

  • Basic clerical and data entry experience, and
  • Customer Services or call center experience

Job Duties

Process diet orders and update patient information in Nutrition Services Systems appropriately and in a timely manner.

Explains procedures for ordering of meals to all patients. Anticipates the need of the patient and responds appropriately. Interacts in a positive, professional manner with patients, family members, and/or nursing on a daily basis. Communicates clearly and professionally, whether verbally or in writing, to take patient orders, promoting both work efforts and problem resolution.

Assists with delivering trays to patients' as directed by Nutrition Leadership on duty to ensure patients are fed in a timely manner.

Delivers cupcakes to patients, rolling silverware for patients', pulling birthday supplies for patients celebrating birthdays in hospital, and other misc. duties assigned in diet office.

Effectively manages complaints and refers to supervisor as appropriate. Verifies that issues have been resolved

Processes, prints, and distributes daily documents in a timely manner. Including, but not limited to, patient menus, nourishment labels, tray tickets, vouchers, patient reports, etc.

Manages telephone calls promptly and professionally, utilizing telephone etiquette techniques.

Promotes, develops, and sustains teamwork. Conducts self in a manner that is congruent with cultural diversity, equity and inclusion principles. Contributes towards improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i. e. peer-to-peer accountability.

Processes late and/or missing trays effectively and ensures tray line begins promptly.

Verifies accuracy of all patient ticket information prior to submission. Including but not limited to, verifying 2 patient identifiers and ensuring diet in system shown is known to patient, supplement attached, etc. Makes telephone calls to nursing units, as needed, for clarification of diet orders or requests.

Manages special needs of patients, as indicated, including but not limited to, Rehab units, Behavioral Health Units, and other special units, could potentially include and are not limited to in-person patient ordering due to patient's treatment/care program.

  • Actively makes telephone calls to patients' to discuss menu options, food preferences, etc.
  • Assists in trouble shooting of computer problems by calling Help Desk or Alerting Manager on Duty immediately upon discovery to prevent delayed patient care.
  • Complies with the departmental performance improvement plan by managing patient satisfaction surveys.

Ensures adequate supplies to maintain diet office running efficiently, by communicating ordering needs to Administrative Coordinator and/or Nutrition Leadership on duty.

Other duties may be required which are reasonably related to the essential or marginal functions of the position. Other duties as assigned include but are not limited to actively participating and/or serving in a supporting role to meet the Hospital's Nutritional obligations required by Nutrition Services with patient care. Such participation may require an alternate shift pattern assignment and/or location, including but not limited to emergency operation procedures.

Security and EEO Statement

Security

This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code 51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information.

EEO

UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community. As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status.

Key Responsibilities

The Diet Clerk processes patient diet orders, manages meal delivery, and maintains accurate patient information within the nutrition services system. They also provide professional communication with patients and staff to ensure nutritional needs and special requests are met efficiently.

Requirements

Candidates must possess a high school diploma or equivalent. Basic clerical, data entry, and customer service experience are preferred.

Key Skills

Call center operationsCultural diversity awarenessPatient interactionDiet order processingComputer troubleshootingRecord keeping

Medical Office & Records Career Context

Of the 50 active Medical Office & Records listings this role was benchmarked against, 22% are remote, 26% have no call, 78% require no weekends.

Medical Office & Records pay on WeekdayDoc is down 6.0% vs. the prior quarter (through Oct 2026).

Medical Office & Records by the numbers
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed paynot listedMedical Office & Records median $70k (middle half $58k–$78k)13 comparable listings, Nov 2026
Cost of livingTexas index 97.1US average = 100BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Medical Office & Records listings in Texas77 active1,323 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 22% remote · 26% no call · 78% no weekends50 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentloan repaymentUS healthcare professional listings: 5% state a sign-on bonus (median $2k) · 6% offer loan repayment1,000 active listings, Nov 2026
New Medical Office & Records listings63 in the last 30 days46 the 30 days before (+37%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Medical Office & Records pay trend−6.0% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Location & Logistics

Texas has no state income tax, which can significantly increase take-home pay compared to high-tax states.

Top Healthcare Admin Jobs

38 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

36 jobs · 33 employers
15
<$60k
4
$60k-75k
5
$75k-90k
9
$90k-105k
3
$105k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

28 jobs
401k / retirement match
96% this job
CME allowance
18%
Loan repayment
11% this job
PSLF eligible
11% this job
Sign-on bonus
7%

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Work-life snapshot

median 3.0this job 3.0
Better work-life than 50% of Medical Office & Records (Healthcare Admin) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 161 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

UT Southwestern Medical Center logo

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

Higher Education
Dallas, Texas
1,001-5,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

PPO medical plan (day one, no cost for employee-only)
100% preventive healthcare coverage
Paid Time Off (day one)
Retirement through Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
Paid Parental Leave
Wellness programs
Tuition Reimbursement
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Qualified Employer

Living in Dallas

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$284k
Typical market rent
$1,604/mo
Residents’ average commute
26 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
103.1
State income tax
None
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026), Zillow market rents (Sep 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.