Failure to Address Repeated Resident Council Concerns About Snacks and Food Temperature
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to adequately address and respond to recurring concerns raised in resident council meetings regarding snack variety and food temperatures, affecting four cognitively intact or impaired residents with multiple medical conditions, including atrial fibrillation, pulmonary disease, dementia, chronic kidney disease, vascular disease, and dysphagia. Resident council minutes over approximately a one‑year period documented repeated complaints about limited snack options and cold food at meals. Despite these concerns being voiced at multiple meetings, the corresponding concern forms were incomplete or failed to address all issues raised. For example, some forms did not mention food temperature concerns at all, others only partially addressed snack variety, and some did not address either the lack of snack variety or cold food. Residents reported that they had asked for more variety in chips and fruit and had not been offered choices or a list of items available from the supplier, and they stated that the facility gave excuses for the continued reliance on peanut butter sandwiches. Residents also reported that food was consistently served cold both in their rooms and in the dining room. The Activity Director confirmed that resident concerns were documented in council minutes and that concern forms were written and given to department heads, but acknowledged that residents had consistent, repeated concerns about snack variety and cold food over the majority of the months reviewed. The Activity Director denied knowledge that the requested variety of snacks was ever offered, denied knowledge of what the facility was doing to improve food temperatures, and was unaware of any test trays being completed or results shared with residents. The facility’s own policy stated that administration shall respond in writing to concerns and recommendations raised by the resident council, yet the repeated, unresolved complaints and incomplete concern forms demonstrated that resident council concerns were not consistently or effectively addressed.
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