Late Meal Service in Nursing Unit
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that meals were served at regularly scheduled times in accordance with resident preferences on the nursing unit. The scheduled mealtime for the back hall of the nursing unit was 12:15 p.m., and for the front hall, it was 12:30 p.m. However, observations revealed that meals were consistently served late. Residents 4 and 5 in the back hall received their lunch trays between 12:45 and 12:59 p.m., which was over 30 minutes past the scheduled time. Similarly, in the front hall, Residents 1, 2, 3, and 6 received their lunch trays between 1:14 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., over 44 minutes past the scheduled mealtime. Interviews with Residents 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 confirmed that they usually received their meals late. The Administrator also confirmed during an interview that meals were served late, indicating a systemic issue with meal service timing in the facility.
Plan Of Correction
1. Facility cannot retroactively correct. 2. NHA/Designee will conduct a one-time whole house audit of meal delivery times for breakfast/lunch/dinner to ensure compliance with regulation. 3. Nursing home administrator/designee will in-service the dietary department on importance of adhering to meal delivery times to ensure compliance with regulation. 4. NHA/Designee will conduct an audit of tray delivery times 3 x a week x 4 weeks and once a month x 2 months to ensure ongoing compliance with regulation. Results will be reviewed at QAPI.