Deficiencies in Food Storage and Labeling Practices
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to adhere to food safety standards in the storage and labeling of food items in two resident refrigerators located on the Melrose Unit and Linden Lane. Observations revealed that the Melrose Unit refrigerator contained a sandwich without a 'use by' date, another sandwich past its 'use by' date, and six expired Activia yogurts. Additionally, the refrigerator had a pink sticky liquid substance, and the freezer contained a blue sticky substance and old, discolored ice cubes. On a subsequent observation, the same refrigerator contained five sealed cottage cheese cups that were past their 'use by' date. Interviews with LPNs confirmed these findings and acknowledged the need for discarding the expired items and cleaning the refrigerator. On the Linden Lane, a refrigerator contained a sealed plastic container of blueberry cobbler with a 'use by' date that had passed, and an Ensure nutritional drink with an expiration date indicating it was expired. The blueberry cobbler was intended for a resident who had already been discharged from the facility. A Registered Nurse confirmed these items were expired and should have been discarded. The facility's policies on food brought by family/visitors and food receiving and storage were not followed, leading to these deficiencies in food safety practices.
Plan Of Correction
All refrigerators were checked, and proper cleaning and disposal of items was completed immediately upon discovery by the surveyors. All staff were educated on the importance of checking and cleaning refrigerators. Family members and residents were provided with a copy of the Outside Food policy. Refrigerator cleaning logs were immediately put into place. The dietary department or designee will clean and properly dispose of any undated, unlabeled, or expired supplies in the refrigerators and keep log. The nursing home administrator or designee will conduct audits weekly for 4 weeks, and then monthly for 3 months. This will include checking to ensure logs are being kept and properly completed as well as observing refrigerators to ensure compliance. Results of these audits will be reviewed at the quarterly quality assurance meeting; any unfavorable auditing results will result in immediate corrective action step(s).