Failure to Provide Homelike Environment and Maintain Cleanliness
Summary
The facility failed to provide a homelike environment by serving meals on Styrofoam plates with plastic utensils, which was observed during multiple meal times. Residents expressed dissatisfaction with the use of these materials, stating that they would not use them at home and found them difficult to use. One resident, who had hemiplegia, struggled to eat with the plastic utensils, resulting in a significant portion of their meal being uneaten. Another resident, who was totally dependent on staff for eating, had difficulty consuming their meal as the plastic fork could not cut through the food properly. Staff interviews confirmed that the use of Styrofoam and plastic utensils was not considered homelike, and the Dietary Manager acknowledged that the dishwasher was fixed but residents were still using disposable items until she felt comfortable with the dishwasher's performance. The facility also failed to provide clean and properly maintained equipment. One resident was transferred to a new wheelchair that was visibly dirty, with white crusty and reddish-brown stains on the seat and thick cobwebs on the wheels. Staff interviews revealed that the night shift CNAs were responsible for cleaning wheelchairs, but the provided wheelchair was not cleaned before being given to the resident. The Director of Nurses stated that she expected staff to provide clean wheelchairs to residents. Additionally, the facility did not maintain clean resident rooms. Observations of three different rooms showed sticky floors, dirty privacy curtains with brown stains, dusty air conditioning units, and trash debris. One resident expressed distress over the state of their room, which had not been cleaned adequately. Staff interviews indicated that housekeeping was expected to follow cleaning schedules, but the observed conditions did not meet these expectations. The Housekeeping Supervisor and the Administrator both stated that they expected residents' rooms to be clean and orderly, but this was not the case during the survey observations.
Penalty
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