Failure to Perform Hand Hygiene During Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
During a breakfast meal observation on the 3rd Floor Unit, seven staff members, including nurses, CNAs, and a dietary aide, were involved in serving meals to ten residents in the dining room. The staff were observed serving food, pouring beverages, and clearing dirty tableware without performing appropriate hand hygiene between these tasks. Specifically, one CNA was seen handling dirty plates, cups, and utensils with bare hands and did not perform hand hygiene before serving other residents. Although a hand washing sink was available behind the steam table, none of the staff were observed using it for hand hygiene during the meal service. The facility's policy requires all food and nutrition services staff, including nursing personnel, to wash their hands before serving food and after handling soiled plates and food waste. However, staff did not adhere to these guidelines during the observed meal service. Interviews with staff and the Director of Nursing confirmed that the expectation is for staff to perform hand hygiene between serving each resident, and that staff have previously been educated on these practices. Despite this, no staff were observed following the required hand hygiene protocols during the meal service.