Failure to Provide Palatable-Temperature Meals to Residents, Especially During In-Room Dining
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency related to the facility’s failure to reasonably accommodate resident food preferences regarding temperature of cooked foods, particularly for residents receiving meals in their rooms. In individual interviews, one resident stated the cooked food was lukewarm, another reported that cooked food was sometimes cold when it arrived to their room, and additional residents indicated that cooked food was cold at times, sometimes cold, or cold and not always cooked thoroughly when they ate in their rooms. During a Resident Council meeting, three anonymous residents also reported that food was not always warm when they ate in their rooms. The Dietary Manager stated that food must be served at an adequate temperature and with palatable taste and that resident food preferences were accommodated, and the facility’s Food Temperatures policy indicated that all hot and cold food items would be served at a palatable temperature at the time the resident receives the food. These resident reports and policy statements formed the basis for the cited deficiency under 410 IAC 16.2-3.1-3(v)(1). No additional clinical history or medical conditions for the residents involved were documented in the report.
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