Failure to Honor Resident Food Preferences During Mealtime
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to honor a resident's food preference as required by its policies and the resident's care plan. Specifically, a review of the resident's care plan indicated that their food preferences should be honored within diet parameters, and substitutes should be offered if meal intake was below 50%. The resident's diet slip specified a soft and bite-size Vietnamese menu with chopped meat, vegetables, noodles, and bread. However, during an observation, the resident was served ice cream and was not provided with the Vietnamese menu as requested. The resident in question had a fluctuating capacity to understand and make decisions, as documented in their medical record. During the observed mealtime, the resident verbally requested Vietnamese food, but the staff member feeding the resident confirmed that the Vietnamese menu was not served. This failure to provide the preferred food was contrary to the facility's policy on promoting and maintaining resident dignity during mealtime and had the potential to negatively impact the resident's meal intake and psychosocial well-being.