F0880

E

Failure to Follow Hand Hygiene Protocols During Meal Assistance

Albuquerque, New Mexico Survey Completed on 01-28-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to implement and follow an ongoing infection prevention and control program, specifically related to hand hygiene during meal assistance and environmental surveillance. During an observation in the dining room on 01/27/26 at 12:40 pm, CNA #3 assisted two residents, R #20 and R #42, who were seated at the same table. CNA #3 used her bare right hand to touch R #20’s spoon, scooped a spoonful of food, placed the spoon in R #20’s right hand, and instructed R #20 to eat. Without performing hand hygiene, CNA #3 then turned to R #42, picked up R #42’s spoon with her bare hands, scooped a spoonful of food, placed the spoon in R #42’s hand, and instructed R #42 to eat, before returning to R #20 and continuing assistance without any hand hygiene. In an interview at 12:46 pm, the DON confirmed that CNA #3 did not perform hand hygiene between helping the residents during the meal and stated that hand hygiene should be performed between resident care. The report also notes that the facility lacked a system of surveillance to identify environmental hazards before they could spread to residents and staff, and references related findings under F0584.