Failure to Maintain Sanitary Food Service and Monitor Resident Refrigerator Temperatures
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency was identified when a cook was observed serving food from the steam table while wearing gloves and using her hands instead of utensils to plate fish sticks and cornbread. During the meal service, the cook coughed onto her right wrist, sneezed into her left elbow, and wiped her nose with her left wrist, but did not remove her gloves or perform hand hygiene before continuing to serve food. The facility's own handwashing guidelines require dietary employees to clean their hands and exposed portions of their arms after coughing, sneezing, or blowing their nose, and to use utensils when serving food. The dietary manager confirmed that staff are expected to follow these procedures. Additionally, the facility failed to ensure that resident room refrigerators were equipped with thermometers and that their temperatures were monitored. Two cognitively intact female residents were found to have refrigerators in their rooms without thermometers, containing perishable food items such as yogurt, lunchmeat, cheese, ice cream, and leftovers. Both residents reported that they did not recall staff checking the refrigerators or the presence of thermometers. The safety director acknowledged that while room checks are performed, there is no documentation for monitoring resident refrigerator temperatures, and confirmed that thermometers should be present. The facility's policy requires proper handling, serving, and storage of food items brought into the facility.