Centralia Sharon Care Center dietary manager honored by national magazine

Amy Clark is Nutrition & Foodservice Edge magazine’s January 2025 certified dietary manager and certified food protection professional of the month

By Owen Sexton  / owen@chronline.com
Posted 1/20/25

When it comes to cooking for those in assisted living facilities, it can be difficult, as many of the elderly have dietary restrictions and some have difficulty chewing.

For residents at Sharon …

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Centralia Sharon Care Center dietary manager honored by national magazine

Amy Clark is Nutrition & Foodservice Edge magazine’s January 2025 certified dietary manager and certified food protection professional of the month

Posted

When it comes to cooking for those in assisted living facilities, it can be difficult, as many of the elderly have dietary restrictions and some have difficulty chewing.

For residents at Sharon Care Center in Centralia, their meals are made from scratch and tailored to their specific dietary needs and restrictions by their kitchen staff, which is led by Amy Clark, certified dietary manager (CDM) and certified food protection professional (CFPP) at the assisted living facility located on Harrison Avenue in Centralia.

Sharon Care Center is owned and managed by Nightingale Healthcare.

Clark’s cooking and the way the kitchen operates is so good, it has received national attention, as she has just been named Nutrition & Foodservice Edge magazine’s CDM, CFPP of the Month for January 2025.

The Chronicle met with Clark at Sharon Care Center on Thursday, Jan. 16, to talk about the work she does and take a quick tour of her kitchen.

Born and raised in Hoquiam, Clark started working as Sharon Care Center’s CDM and CFPP last summer.

She’s spent 36 years total in the food service industry, starting off as a dishwasher. Prior to working at Sharon Care Center, she had been working at the Montesano Health and Rehabilitation Center.

“I was there 25 years, and it was unfortunate: The roofers caught us on fire and kind of put us out of business,” Clark said.

It was there she worked with Lori Mellquest, who was Montesano Health and Rehabilitation Center’s activity director. She taught Clark a lot of what she knows.

“Lori was the activity director there since 1987, so she had a lot of years (of experience). She taught me a lot of the clinical aspect of the job,” Clark said.

The fire, which occurred in September 2022, forced her to find work elsewhere. First, Clark ended up in Shelton, but last summer she saw that Sharon Care Center was hiring.

Now managing Sharon Care Center’s kitchen, Clark sits down with every resident at the facility to find out not only their dietary restrictions but some of their favorite foods.

From there, she crafts the kitchen’s menus from scratch along with scheduling mealtimes and helping educate the residents about nutrition.

Meeting with the residents and listening to what they have to say about the menu is important to Clark, even if they might be complaining about the meal.



For many residents at Sharon Care Center, command of what they eat is one of the few, if not the only thing, left in their lives they actually can still control.

“You’ve just lost everything and you’re moving into, what, an 800-square-foot apartment essentially? And some of them are even doubled up in a room,” Clark said. 

That’s the reason she strives to ensure each resident has food they can enjoy for every meal.

Clark is also responsible for ensuring the kitchen is kept clean and up to health inspector standards, along with hiring and training staff. Keeping the kitchen staffed is another major challenge.

“It’s not a lot of pay here in long-term care,” Clark said. 

On top of all of that, Clark has also focused on the way meals are presented to make them look more appetizing and has changed the styling of Sharon Care Center’s dining rooms to feel more like a home-style restaurant.

“We set the tables restaurant style. I brought in the lazy Susans for the condiments and spices, so that it's not cluttered and they have options. It’s all right there and they don’t have to ask for them. It’s more like a dining room and more like home,” Clark said. “... And they love their ice cream machine.” 

Jimmy Reed, administrator for Sharon Care Center’s assisted living and memory care unit, loves working alongside Clark and is happy the facility hired her, especially when it comes to what she’s done with the dining rooms.

“I’ve always strived to do some changes with my dining room. So when Amy came on the force here, she took it upon herself and just really helped me out,” Reed said. “She got the dining room looking like a dining room. She changed quite a few things that have been a huge help for both me and my staff … What she’s done is above and beyond, and we are so lucky to have her. Montesano’s loss is our gain.”

Reed added Clark has also been responsible for organizing the holiday celebration meals at Sharon Care Center.

To learn more about Clark, read Nutrition & Foodservice Edge magazine’s interview with her on the magazine’s website at https://tinyurl.com/y2pb4x3j

Nutrition & Foodservice Edge magazine is the official publication of the Association of Nutrition & Food Service Professionals, which aims at providing quality nutritional care through foodservice management in hospitals, assisted living facilities, schools, correctional facilities and other non-commercial kitchen settings, according to its website.

For more information on the Sharon Care Center, visit its website at https://sharoncare.com/