F0809

E

Failure to Provide Substantial and Consistent Evening Snacks to Residents

Bristol, Connecticut Survey Completed on 03-02-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The facility failed to provide residents with a substantial evening snack on a daily basis, as required by regulation and facility policy. Surveyor observations of the dietary department’s dry storage room on multiple dates showed that the designated snack shelf contained only a small quantity of items, such as one box of crackers and several 1-liter bottles of cola, with no chips, cookies, crackers, or other substantial snacks available. On another observation, there were no snacks available to residents at all. Review of the snack cart revealed it typically contained only a coffee carafe, a bottle of ginger ale, and at most a single or partial package of crackers, with no other food items present for residents.

Further observations of the café refrigerator showed fewer than 20 containers of Jello, pudding, or fruit cups available for a facility with a capacity of 125 residents. In interviews, the Food Service Director (FSD) reported that snacks were delivered weekly on Thursdays but routinely ran out by Mondays due to a reduced snack budget of $315 per week. The Administrator acknowledged awareness of the lack of snacks and that the FSD had raised concerns. The dietician reported that snack availability had significantly declined since a change in ownership, that requests to purchase more snacks were not approved, and that snacks needed for residents who are diabetic or who did not eat meals were not always available, despite their importance for caloric supplementation.