Failure to Perform Hand Hygiene During Meal Tray Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that meal trays were served in a clean and sanitary manner, as observed during meal tray service to eight residents. Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) #525 repeatedly did not perform hand hygiene before or after retrieving meal trays from the cart, delivering trays to residents' bedside tables, setting up meal trays, or after handling potentially contaminated items such as bedside tables, dirty water cups, trash bags, and cleaning up spills. The CNA also failed to perform hand hygiene after touching her face, picking up items from the floor, and after assisting residents with their meals, including cutting up food with silverware from the meal tray. These actions were directly observed during a meal service period, and the CNA confirmed during interview that she did not perform hand hygiene as required between resident contacts, after cleaning, or after handling trash. Review of the facility's hand hygiene policy indicated that all staff are required to perform proper hand hygiene to prevent the spread of infection, specifically between resident contacts and after handling contaminated objects. The failure to follow these procedures was observed to affect all eight residents who received meal trays during the observation period.