Ice Machines Not Maintained in Sanitary Condition
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that two out of three ice machines in the facility were not maintained in a sanitary condition. Specifically, a black substance was found built up on the inner edges of the Unit 1 ice machine during an inspection. Documentation attached to the machine, including a cleaning schedule log and a service provider label, indicated that the last recorded cleaning was in June, and annual maintenance was performed in March. However, the presence of visible buildup suggested that cleaning and sanitization were not performed as required. Further observations and interviews with the Physical Plant Director and the Regional Director of Environmental Services confirmed the black buildup inside the ice machines on both Unit 1 and Unit 2. Although each machine had tags indicating yearly maintenance and monthly cleaning checklists with staff initials, the black substance was still present. The Regional Director acknowledged that housekeeping was responsible for cleaning the machines and that the buildup was unacceptable. Facility policy required daily visual inspections, monthly cleaning, and annual thorough cleaning and sanitization, but there was no evidence of prior staff training for this task, and the required standards were not met.