Failure to Honor Resident Mealtime and Dining Location Preferences
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to honor residents’ mealtime preferences and support resident choice regarding dining location and meal service. During an observation of the main dining room, surveyors noted residents interacting and staff taking meal orders in a restaurant-style format. However, in a confidential meeting with eight residents who usually attended resident council, six reported that the main dining room was frequently closed and not open at all on weekends. These residents stated they preferred eating in the dining room because it allowed them to get out of their rooms, socialize, receive warm meals, and obtain all menu items they had selected. They reported that when they received meal trays in their rooms during dining room closures, items were often missing despite their pre-completed weekly menu selections, and that soup and salad routinely offered in the dining room were not offered when they ate in their rooms. Residents reported that these dining restrictions had been in place for a long time and expressed frustration over their loss of choice to eat in the main dining room, with several stating they believed the dining room was only opened that week because the State Agency was present. The DON stated that decisions about opening or closing the main dining room were made by the Dining Manager (DM). The DM reported that the dining room would only close for emergencies such as an outbreak, but also acknowledged it had been closed for four or five days earlier in the month due to a fuse box issue with the dish machine. The DM further stated the main dining room was not open on weekends, explaining this was their plan since COVID-related dining room shutdowns, and that there was no official written plan for reopening. These practices conflicted with facility policies stating that residents would be interviewed about their preference to eat in the dining room or their room and that residents have freedom of choice, to the maximum extent possible, about how they wish to live their everyday lives and receive care.
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