Failure to Maintain Sanitary Resident Refrigerator and Temperature Monitoring
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain a policy regarding the use and storage of foods brought in by family and visitors for residents, specifically for one resident who was reviewed for food and nutrition services. During observation and interview, it was found that the resident's personal refrigerator contained a brown substance stuck to the bottom of both the refrigerator and freezer compartments, as well as a food-encrusted butter knife. There was no temperature log present for the refrigerator, and the resident reported that staff did not clean her refrigerator, although she occasionally stored food in it. Interviews with facility staff revealed that both housekeeping and maintenance were responsible for checking the cleanliness and temperatures of residents' refrigerators, but these tasks had not been performed. The facility's policy required maintenance staff to record refrigerator temperatures weekly and for nursing or housekeeping staff to clean the refrigerators weekly and discard any non-compliant foods. The lack of adherence to these procedures resulted in unsanitary conditions and the absence of temperature monitoring for the resident's refrigerator.