Failure to Ensure Dietary Staff Competency and Adherence to Portion Sizes
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that food and nutrition service staff had the appropriate competencies and skill sets to safely and effectively carry out their duties. During an observation, a dietary aide was seen preparing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and tuna sandwiches for residents without using the required portion sizes or measurement tools, instead spreading ingredients by sight with a spatula. The dietary aide confirmed she had not used measurements and had only worked at the facility for three months. Facility recipes specified exact amounts for each sandwich, such as 1/4 cup of peanut butter and a #16 scoop of tuna, but these instructions were not followed during preparation. Further review of the dietary aide's personnel file revealed previous performance issues, including incomplete logs and improper food storage, for which educational information had been provided. The facility's orientation checklist was completed, but there were no job-specific competency assessments documented. The kitchen supervisor stated that competency is determined through preceptor training, but acknowledged that the aide had limited training due to illness and that no written competency checklist or 90-day evaluations were completed. Facility policies required adequate training and periodic written, competency-based evaluations for food and nutrition staff, but these were not implemented as required.