Food Storage and Meal Distribution Lapses
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to store food in a sanitary manner on two nursing units, Northwest 1 and Northwest 2. During observations, multiple food items in the nourishment room refrigerators and cabinets were found without proper labeling or dating, including packages of strawberries, blueberries, shrimp, crawfish tail meat, pepperoni, chili sauce, and bulk containers of cookies. Some items were labeled with use-by dates, but several perishable items lacked both resident names and dates, contrary to facility policy which requires perishable foods to be labeled with the resident's name, the item, and a use-by date. Staff confirmed that the nourishment rooms were intended for resident use only. Additionally, the facility failed to distribute resident meal trays in a sanitary manner on the Northeast 1 unit. An LPN was observed serving food while wearing the same gloves after touching door knobs, keypads, and her jacket, without changing gloves or performing hand hygiene between tasks. This practice was inconsistent with the facility's policy on standard precautions, which requires staff to change gloves and wash hands between resident contacts and tasks.