F0812

L

Unsanitary Food Preparation During Kitchen Plumbing Excavation

Jackson, Michigan Survey Completed on 02-27-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to prepare and serve food under sanitary conditions while major plumbing repairs and floor excavation were occurring in the kitchen. After an underground water line break affecting the kitchen and laundry, contractors began digging a large hole in the kitchen floor near the steamer and tray line. Temporary plastic barrier walls were placed, but they were unsecured and had open areas. Surveyors observed garden hoses running from the kitchen across the dining room floor and out an open window, with hoses duct-taped to the floor. The kitchen floors were heavily soiled with boot prints, and contractors walked through the food prep area, tracking dirt. Large piles of dirt, broken tile, concrete, rocks, and wastewater were present near the tray line, stovetop, and three-compartment sink.

Despite these conditions, the facility continued to prep and serve meals from the kitchen. Dietary staff were observed serving food from a steam table located directly next to the unsecured plastic barrier and large open holes in the floor with exposed dirt and debris. Prepped and wrapped silverware was stored on the steam table within about two feet of the large hole and dirt piles. Cardboard boxes of disposable meal service items were placed directly on the kitchen floor near the tray line. A soiled blender was observed on a dining room table next to personal drinks and a soiled towel. The Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) stated that after the first hole was dug following breakfast, all subsequent meals continued to be prepped and served in the kitchen next to the excavation area, and that food had been taken back and forth from refrigerators located beyond the barrier and past the large hole.

Multiple staff interviews confirmed that the barrier was not effectively monitored or verified as secure. The Maintenance Director acknowledged that he did not verify that the plastic barrier wall was secured or check it frequently, and that a wet saw was used to cut through floor tiles, which created dust. The DON stated that if the barrier was broken open there was a risk of pathogens contaminating the food and that, because the barrier was not sealed, food should not have been prepared in the kitchen. The previous DON reported she knew digging was occurring in the kitchen but did not enter the kitchen initially, assumed there was a barrier, and believed food preparation had been moved out of the kitchen without confirming this. The Administrator stated she saw the barrier closed but did not order food preparation to be removed from the kitchen and did not assign anyone to monitor the barrier. From the time the hole was dug until surveyor intervention, 10 meals were served out of the kitchen under these unsanitary conditions, affecting all residents who ate meals prepared there.

Removal Plan

• Facility plans to use prepared food from a US food vendor for upcoming meals as a back-up plan.
• Facility is using disposable paper products immediately as a back-up plan.
• Facility discarded all lunch that was ordered for residents and stopped lunch trays enroute to the units; lunch was catered in for the residents.
• Dietician and Medical Director were notified of the Immediate Jeopardy.
• The kitchen immediately closed for services.
• The dining room next to the kitchen is being set up as the temporary kitchen until pipe work and construction are completed.
• The juice machine, coffee maker, steamer, steam table, tray line, prep area, 3-compartment area, and handwashing station are being utilized in the temporary kitchen.
• All residents who eat meals were immediately assessed for food borne illness.
• All residents at risk for food borne illness.
• A temporary refrigeration truck is providing both freezer and refrigeration.
• An electrician inspected for the correct plug for the steamer, rewired to accommodate the steamer in the temporary kitchen, and cleared it for use.
• The steam table was disinfected after removal from the construction zone.
• A handwashing station was delivered and set up in the temporary kitchen.