Failure to Perform Proper Hand Hygiene During Food Preparation
Penalty
Summary
Staff E failed to follow professional standards for hand hygiene during meal preparation. Observations showed that after completing hand hygiene, Staff E handled multiple bowls by placing ungloved fingers inside them before serving food, and repeated this process with both mechanical soft and pureed Swiss steak. Staff E also handled bowls and food items with gloved and ungloved hands without performing hand hygiene between tasks, such as after removing gloves and before touching ready-to-eat foods. These actions occurred while preparing and serving various food items, including Swiss steak, peas, and peach pie, for residents. Interviews with the Certified Dietary Manager and the Administrator confirmed that facility expectations and policy require hand hygiene before and after gloving, after contact with contaminated surfaces, and before handling food or clean equipment. The facility's hand washing policy, effective 12/29/23, specifies that food employees must clean their hands and exposed portions of their arms immediately before engaging in food preparation and as often as necessary to prevent cross-contamination. The observed failure to adhere to these standards during food preparation led to the deficiency.