Steven Moses plans to continue with five star services

By PAIGE CARR

Staff writer

A Haysville veteran with commercial kitchen experience is bringing his culinary talents to Parkside Homes.

Steven Moses started as certified dietary manager April 23.

“I’ve known of Hillsboro and Marion for years and years,” he said. “My sister graduated from Tabor in the early ’80s.”

Moses has military experience in three branches. He was in the Marine Corps Reserve while still in high school, active Navy, and Army Reserves.

Moses said his background in military bleeds over to running a kitchen.

“They’re both hot and noisy,” he laughed. “One of the things people don’t realize is being in the military forces you to work together with others and achieve common goals.”

Along with military credentials, Moses also has plenty of hours spent working in a kitchen under his chef’s hat.

“If you ate anywhere in Wichita in the ’90s, you’re welcome,” he said.

Moses worked for Olive Garden, Riverside Brewery, and other kitchens throughout the Wichita area.

Moses said he is pleased with the environment and structure of Parkside, and is looking forward to putting faces with names.

“It’s easy to sit down and read a paper with names that show who is diabetic on a low sugar and carbohydrates intake,” he said. “Now it’s just a matter of putting names and faces together. When you have a low turnover rate, which there seems to be here, and you have the same faces doing the job day after day, month after month. It makes the residents more comfortable and builds those relationships with trust.”

Parkside was recently noted as a five star establishment by U.S. News, and Moses plans to keep the overall experience of the facility as high quality as possible.

“To do that, my staff and I need to consistently put out food that’s good to eat and that residents are going to want to come out and enjoy,” he said. “My overall plan is to continue to drive what got us to five stars in the first place, and to look for ways we can improve or advance to take care of the ladies and gentlemen that live here. Quite frankly, they pay my salary.”

Moses said he also wants to focus on growing a relationship with not only residents, but their families as well, including accommodating the needs of visiting family members.

“Let’s say you have 15 grandkids coming to see you,” he said. “I’m not opposed to doing a buffet with chicken strips and macaroni and cheese. It’s little things like that we can do to improve the overall quality of their life.”

Moses said the overall experience of fulfilling the dietary manager position in a five star facility comes with many emotions.

“It’s fun, but yet it’s challenging,” he said. “It’s rewarding but can frustrating, it’s everything you can think of.”