F0806

F

Failure to Provide Alternate Meal Choices and Honor Resident Food Preferences

New Philadelphia, Ohio Survey Completed on 03-26-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide appealing meal options of similar nutritive value and to honor residents’ food preferences during a prolonged kitchen shutdown and subsequent transition period. For 19 days while major plumbing repairs were performed in the kitchen and dry storage, the facility prepared meals out of the dining room using limited equipment such as roasters, crockpots, a microwave, a griddle, and a waffle maker. During this time, only one meal choice was offered at each meal, and the only substitutes available were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or deli sandwiches. The Dietary Manager confirmed that there was no second meal option of similar nutritional value available during the kitchen shutdown.

Multiple residents reported not being able to order or receive their preferred items. One resident stated there were no second options or substitute items and that he was simply given food he did not like, including peas, carrots, and rice. Another resident’s meal ticket indicated a preference for chocolate milk, which was not provided on the tray. A different resident reported she does not order and is just served whatever is given; her stated preferences for 2% milk, cranberry juice, and fruit punch resulted in her receiving only fruit punch. Another resident reported being served burnt pizza with no other option when the kitchen was down and stated that even when she tells staff what she wants, she usually does not receive it; her ticket also indicated she should receive ice with every meal and fruit punch at lunch, neither of which were delivered. The Dietary Manager further acknowledged that new dietary aides were still in training and had not been given sufficient time to learn their tray line duties during and immediately after the kitchen relocation.