F0805

E

Failure to Follow Mechanical Soft Diet Guidelines During Meal Service

Lemont, Illinois Survey Completed on 08-21-2025

Penalty

Fine: $22,260

Summary

The facility failed to follow prescribed mechanical soft (dental soft) diet guidance for multiple residents during meal service. During an observed meal on the 2nd floor, several residents with diet orders for dental soft/mechanical soft received whole corn as a vegetable, despite their meal tickets indicating soft and chopped green beans as the selected vegetable option. Another resident on a mechanical soft diet received a 4 oz cup of chopped fruit that included chunks of raw pineapple. The facility’s dietitian later stated that residents on mechanical soft diets are allowed only chopped canned fruits and soft, cooked vegetables, and the Assistant Director of Dining Services confirmed that if green beans were circled, those residents should have received green beans and that pineapple chunks are not served on mechanical soft diets. The facility’s written policy on Mechanical Altered Diets specifies that vegetables must be cooked soft, moist, and fork-tender with no large chunks or pieces, and that only soft, peeled fresh fruits such as peaches, nectarines, melon without seeds, and sliced banana are allowed, indicating that the foods served did not conform to the established mechanical soft diet guidelines.

These observations, interviews, and record reviews showed that all reviewed residents on mechanical soft diets did not consistently receive food prepared in a form designed to meet their individual diet orders and the facility’s own mechanical soft diet policy.