Failure to Perform Proper Hand Hygiene During Resident Care
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified multiple instances where staff failed to perform proper hand hygiene during resident care activities. During meal service, a CNA assisted residents with dining after touching residents, tables, a wheelchair, his own hair, and picking a spoon up off the floor, all without washing or sanitizing his hands. The CNA confirmed in an interview that he did not perform hand hygiene after these actions. The Director of Nursing and Administrator both stated that staff are expected to wash or sanitize hands after such contacts. In another instance, an LPN administered oral medication to a resident with limited physical mobility after handling various items such as the medication cart, computer mouse, and keys, without sanitizing or washing his hands before placing medication in the resident's mouth. The LPN acknowledged his hands were not clean at the time. Additionally, during incontinence care for a resident who was totally dependent on staff, a CNA left the bedside to retrieve a clean brief without removing gloves or performing hand hygiene, which she later recognized as cross contamination. Facility policy requires hand hygiene before and after resident contact, after touching the resident's environment, and after contact with contaminated surfaces.