Failure to Ensure Dignified Dining Experience and Resident Rights
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to uphold residents' rights to dignity and a respectful dining experience in the legacy dining room. Staff did not serve meals to residents at the same table together, instead distributing plates randomly based on meal tickets, contrary to the usual practice of serving one table at a time. Interviews with staff confirmed confusion and inconsistency in meal service procedures, with some staff following instructions to serve by ticket order and others expressing that serving by table was the standard. Additionally, a staff member was observed eating while standing next to residents rather than sitting with them, which was acknowledged by both the staff member and the DON as inappropriate and not in line with facility policy, which encourages staff to sit and eat with residents to promote a dignified, family-style dining environment. A resident was also removed from the dining room by a hospice CNA before completing his meal to receive a shower, despite having only finished his soup and waiting for the main course. The resident was returned to the dining room after the shower, at which point his meal had to be retrieved from the kitchen as other residents had already been served. Staff interviews and facility policy indicated that showers should not be given during mealtimes except in extreme situations, such as incontinence. The facility's own policies emphasize serving residents together, respecting their dignity, and providing a fine dining experience, all of which were not consistently followed during the observed incidents.