Insufficient Dietary Staffing Resulting in Cold Meals and Use of Styrofoam Containers
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient staffing in the dietary department, as evidenced by a review of four weeks of dietary schedules that lacked the appropriate number of trained dietary staff each day. Resident grievances and council meeting minutes documented concerns about meals not being ready for residents going to dialysis and food being served warm or not hot. Multiple residents reported receiving meals in Styrofoam containers several days a week, resulting in food often being cold. These issues were attributed to inadequate dietary staffing, as confirmed by both dietary aides and the dietary manager, who stated that the use of foam containers was due to insufficient staff and that there were shifts with only a cook and one dietary aide present. A family member corroborated that meals were frequently served in Styrofoam containers and were often cold. The dietary manager and aides confirmed that staffing shortages led to the use of these containers and that residents at the same table should be served simultaneously, which was not consistently happening. The Nursing Home Administrator acknowledged that the expected staffing level was one cook and three dietary aides per shift, which was not being met. These findings were supported by facility policy and state regulations regarding the responsibility of the licensee and management.