Failure to Sanitize Dishes and Ensure Hand Hygiene in Kitchen
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure proper kitchen sanitation practices, specifically regarding the use of the dishwasher and hand hygiene among dietary staff. On observation, a dietary aide was seen unloading clean dishes, loading dirty dishes, and then handling clean dishes again without washing hands in between, which could lead to cross contamination. Additionally, the sanitizer bucket connected to the dishwasher was found to be empty, and test strips confirmed that no sanitizing agent was present in the dishwasher at the time of inspection. The dietary manager acknowledged that the dishwasher should be checked three times daily to ensure proper function and sanitizer levels, and that handwashing is required when moving from dirty to clean dishes. Record review revealed that the facility's dishwasher sanitizer check sheet had missing entries for several meal periods, indicating that required checks were not consistently performed. The facility's policy requires dish machines to be checked prior to meals and mandates handwashing before handling clean dishes after touching dirty ones. The infection control nurse confirmed the importance of proper dish sanitization to prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses and gastrointestinal viruses. These failures applied to all 77 residents in the facility.