Failure to Honor Resident Food Preferences Results in Repeated Meal Errors
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide food in accordance with a resident's documented preferences, resulting in repeated instances where the resident did not receive requested or preferred food items. The resident, who was cognitively intact and had multiple medical diagnoses including kidney failure, heart disease, and mood disorders, reported ongoing issues with meal accuracy. Specific examples included not receiving items such as tossed salad, hot tea, yogurt, cold cereal, 2% milk, potato chips, ketchup, and homestyle turkey and gravy, and instead receiving items on his dislike list, such as coffee and beef products. The resident had documented these issues through multiple Quality Assistance Forms, noting frequent discrepancies between meal tickets and actual meals received. Despite the resident's ongoing communication with the dietary manager and submission of concerns, the problems persisted over several weeks, as evidenced by saved meal tickets and repeated complaints. Interviews with facility staff, including the Nursing Home Administrator and Dietary Account Manager, confirmed that the resident's food preferences were not consistently honored and that staff could not explain the repeated errors. The facility's own review of the situation acknowledged noncompliance with meeting the resident's food preferences as documented.