Unqualified Dietary Manager and Lack of Dietary Staff Education
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to employ a qualified director of food and nutrition services and to ensure appropriate education of dietary aides, affecting all 86 residents. The Administrator reported that a contract company, Health Care Services Group (HCSG), had been brought in to run the kitchen, using the facility’s existing kitchen staff while the facility retained oversight. Personnel credential review showed that the individual serving as Dietary Manager, identified as #217, did not meet the qualifications for the role: she was not certified and her degrees were not in fields that would qualify her as a Dietary Manager, despite her years of kitchen experience. Interviews with Dietary Manager #217 revealed that she had originally been employed as a cook and was promoted to manage the kitchen after HCSG took over operations. She stated that a previously credentialed Dietary Manager, identified as #100, stepped down from the role when the contract company assumed control, citing the complexity of the computer system, and recommended her, while informing HCSG that she was not credentialed. HCSG indicated they would pay for her to take classes to become a Certified Dietary Manager, but she confirmed she had not started any classes and believed the company might be waiting to see if she could handle the position before investing in her training. The survey identified this as a failure to employ a qualified Dietary Manager and to provide education to dietary aides, constituting non-compliance under Complaint Number 2701233.
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