Failure to Follow Proper Hand Hygiene and Glove Use in Food Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure proper food safety practices in the kitchen, specifically regarding personal hygiene and glove use among dietary staff. During observations, a cook was seen leaving the food preparation area with gloves on, disposing of trash, and then returning to food preparation without changing gloves. This action was confirmed in an interview, where the cook acknowledged the importance of changing gloves after touching items such as trash cans to prevent resident illness. Additional interviews with dietary staff revealed inconsistent understanding of when gloves should be changed, with one aide stating gloves would only be changed if they ripped, rather than after potential contamination. The facility's hand hygiene policy outlines specific situations requiring handwashing or use of alcohol-based hand rub, including after contact with potentially contaminated surfaces and before handling food. Despite this policy, staff actions did not align with these standards, as observed during the survey. The deficiency was identified in the context of the kitchen, which serves meals to all 77 residents in the facility.