Deficient Hand Hygiene and Kitchen Sanitation in Food Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure proper hand hygiene and gloving practices in the kitchen, as required by both facility policy and professional standards. Observations revealed that a dietary staff member repeatedly performed hand washing for significantly less than the required 20 seconds, often washing for only 6 to 10 seconds between tasks. The staff member also donned new gloves without performing hand hygiene after touching potentially contaminated surfaces, such as cooler door handles and storage areas, and handled food and food preparation equipment without adequate hand washing. The Dietary Manager confirmed that the observed hand hygiene practices did not meet facility policy and that all residents consumed food prepared in this kitchen. In addition to hand hygiene deficiencies, the facility kitchen was observed to have multiple sanitation concerns. These included the presence of rust on a wire dish rack, torn weather stripping on the serving window, food and grease spatters on kitchen equipment, burned and dried food residues on ovens and backsplashes, and grease and sticky substances on various surfaces. The kitchen also had non-operational ovens, dirty and sticky floors, food particles and dirt in storage and preparation areas, and heavily soiled ventilation covers directly above food preparation areas. These conditions were confirmed by the Dietary Manager during a walkthrough. Review of the facility's cleaning schedules indicated that logs were filled out as required, but the specific sanitation issues identified during the survey were not addressed in these records. The Dietary Manager acknowledged the need for cleaning and maintenance in the areas noted by surveyors but was unsure how long some equipment had been out of service. All 66 residents in the facility were potentially affected, as they consumed food prepared in the kitchen where these deficiencies were observed.