Failure to Maintain Hand Hygiene and Food Utensil Sanitation During Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
Staff failed to follow proper hand hygiene protocols during meal service, as observed when multiple CNAs did not remove gloves or perform hand hygiene between serving different residents. One CNA was seen retrieving a plate from a resident's room and then delivering a plate to another room without changing gloves or washing hands, and subsequently began feeding a resident in the dining room after removing gloves but without handwashing. Another CNA touched a used coffee cup with gloved hands and continued to distribute dinner plates without changing gloves or sanitizing hands. Interviews with the involved CNAs confirmed awareness of the correct procedures, but acknowledged that gloves were not changed and hands were not washed as required between residents or after contact with potentially contaminated items. Additionally, during meal preparation for residents on modified diets, a CNA used a spatula that was repeatedly placed on an unclean counter and then used to mix and serve food, despite the counter not being cleaned or having a barrier. The same utensils were washed and sanitized, but then placed again on the unclean counter and reused. Both the CNA and the Dietary Manager confirmed that the counters had not been cleaned and that utensils should not have been used after contamination, indicating a failure to maintain proper food safety and sanitation standards during meal preparation.