Failure to Perform Hand Hygiene During Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure proper hand hygiene was performed by staff prior to passing meal trays, as observed during meal service. An activity aide was seen preparing and arranging beverages, then retrieving and serving food trays to four residents without performing hand hygiene between each resident. The aide made direct contact with each resident while assisting with meal setup, including cutting food and placing residents' hands on their meals, and continued to serve multiple residents consecutively without washing hands or using hand sanitizer. The Director of Nursing confirmed that staff are required to perform hand hygiene between each resident when serving meals, in accordance with facility policy and CDC guidelines. Facility policies reviewed specify that hand hygiene must be performed before and after direct resident contact and before and after assisting with meals, using either hand washing or alcohol-based hand rub. The observed failure to follow these protocols was documented as a deficiency affecting four residents reviewed for infection control.