Failure to Maintain Infection Control During Meal Service and Equipment Use
Penalty
Summary
Staff failed to maintain proper infection prevention and control practices during meal service and equipment use. Dietary staff were observed serving drinks and handling utensils by touching the rims of glasses and the spoon portions, then placing their hands in a trash bag and returning to serve residents without performing hand hygiene. This occurred repeatedly over a 25-minute period, with no hand sanitization between tasks. Additionally, a CNA was seen feeding residents by hand, touching food directly and placing it in residents' mouths without sanitizing hands or wearing gloves. The CNA also sneezed into her shirt, wiped her nose with her hand, and continued to serve food and drinks to residents without washing or sanitizing hands. Further, staff failed to clean and disinfect shared resident-care equipment, specifically an EZ Stand, between uses for different residents. The EZ Stand was moved from one resident room to another and parked in the hallway without being sanitized at any point during the observation. Facility policies require hand hygiene after sneezing, coughing, or handling food, and mandate cleaning and disinfection of reusable resident-care equipment between uses, but these procedures were not followed as observed.