Insufficient Dietary Staffing Leads to Delayed and Cold Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient support personnel in the food and nutrition service, resulting in meals not being served according to the posted start times for both dinner and lunch on multiple occasions. Observations revealed that there was only one cook and two dietary aides working, with one aide in each building. Meal service was consistently delayed, with dinner and lunch being served significantly after the scheduled times. Residents and staff reported that meals were often late and sometimes cold, with grievances and resident council meeting minutes documenting repeated complaints about cold and late food across several months. On specific days, direct observation showed that meal trays were not ready at the scheduled times, and residents expressed hunger and frustration due to the delays. For example, lunch service was delayed by up to an hour, with residents voicing their hunger and requesting food. A test tray provided to the state investigator was found to be at room temperature, confirming concerns about food temperature. Staff interviews corroborated that meal service was frequently late, and some staff had to assist with meal preparation due to short staffing. The dietary manager and other staff acknowledged the ongoing issues with meal timing and food temperature, noting that grievances had been received about these problems. The dietary manager also stated that late meal service was a recurring issue, particularly when certain staff were working, and that delays sometimes occurred due to food not being at the correct temperature at service time. The administrator confirmed that meals were sometimes delayed, particularly when food was not fully cooked at the scheduled time.