Failure to Label Enteral Feeding and Maintain Sanitary Equipment
Penalty
Summary
A resident with a history of dysphagia and Alzheimer's disease was admitted with a physician's order for continuous enteral feeding via a PEG tube. During observation, the enteral feeding container in use for this resident was found to be lacking a label indicating the date and time it was opened and hung, which is required to ensure safe administration within the recommended 48-hour timeframe as per facility policy. This omission was directly observed while the tube feeding and pump were running and delivering nutrition to the resident. Additionally, the resident's wheelchair and the attached feeding pole were observed to be coated with a dried tan residue, which was present on multiple surfaces including the seat cushion, seat support, back support, armrests, and wheels. The Nursing Home Administrator confirmed that housekeeping is responsible for scheduled cleaning of all wheelchairs and that all staff are expected to clean wheelchairs immediately when soiled. The facility failed to ensure proper labeling of enteral feeding containers and did not maintain the resident's equipment in a sanitary condition.