Failure to Maintain Sanitary Food Handling and Hand Hygiene Practices
Penalty
Summary
Staff failed to adhere to facility policies and professional standards regarding hand hygiene and food handling during meal service. Multiple staff members, including CNAs and an Activity Assistant, were observed handling food with bare hands and failing to perform hand hygiene before assisting residents with meals. Specific incidents included repositioning food on a plate with bare hands, opening a milk carton by inserting a finger, and spreading jelly on toast while holding it with bare hands. Additionally, a CNA was observed feeding a resident after repositioning them in bed and adjusting their pillow, without performing hand hygiene in between tasks. In the kitchen, a dietary staff member was observed preparing meal trays while wearing gloves, but left the serving line multiple times to open equipment and returned to food preparation without changing gloves or performing hand hygiene. This staff member also changed gloves multiple times without performing hand hygiene before donning new gloves. Facility policies required handwashing before starting work in the kitchen, after unsanitary tasks, and before applying gloves, but these procedures were not followed as observed. Interviews with the DON and CDM confirmed that these practices were not in accordance with facility expectations.