Failure to Provide Palatable, Properly Prepared Meals
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that food was palatable, appetizing, and properly prepared for two residents on regular diets with regular texture and thin liquid consistency orders. One resident with bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression reported that the food was “yucky” and sometimes cold, and that staff did not reheat it when requested. On one morning, she anticipated receiving french toast sticks and stated she would eat them but expected they would probably be cold. Later that morning, her breakfast tray was observed at her bedside with the lid on the plate; she reported the food temperature was acceptable but stated the sausage was undercooked and the french toast sticks were “hard as a rock.” She demonstrated that she could not cut the french toast sticks with a fork, that only one of four was soft enough to bite, and that she had to eat the one she did consume with her fingers after covering it in syrup. Three french toast sticks and two sausage links remained on the plate, and the hardness of the french toast sticks was both seen and heard during the observation. Another resident with unspecified dementia, weakness, and a history of falls reported that breakfast “sucked,” describing the food as cold, the sausage as needing more cooking, and the french toast sticks as “rock hard,” which she stated she could not eat at all. Her tray contained two bowls of oatmeal and two cups of fruit; she reported she did not know why she received two bowls of oatmeal and that she would not eat even one, though she stated the fruit was acceptable. She later reported that lunch was “terrible,” did not taste good, and that she did not receive the collards listed on the menu but instead was served green beans, which she stated were not the same. On another morning, she reported she could not eat whatever was served for breakfast and was observed going to the kitchen to obtain fruit, stating that whatever she had been served “needed some help.” The posted menu for that day listed sausage links, cereal of choice, french toast sticks, and juice for breakfast, and chicken BBQ, macaroni & cheese, collards, cornbread, and sweet potato pie for lunch. The Dietary Manager stated that residents could request alternative choices from a list of “always ready” foods if they did not like something.
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