Failure to Maintain Dignity by Serving Meals on Disposable Dishware
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to honor residents’ rights to dignity and respect by serving meals on disposable Styrofoam dishware with plastic cutlery for an extended period. Surveyors observed that the facility’s dishwasher had been malfunctioning since February, dispensing chemicals at incorrect times and leaving dishes unclean. As a result, the facility had been using disposable dishware for all meals, affecting 67 residents, while three residents who were NPO did not receive food from the kitchen. During a kitchen observation, the dishwasher was noted to be non-operational and under repair by a technician, and subsequent meal service observations showed residents receiving their meals in Styrofoam containers with plastic utensils. A resident reported dissatisfaction with the Styrofoam containers, stating that it was difficult to cut food and that attempts to do so resulted in cutting through the container itself. Multiple observations of lunch services confirmed that residents continued to be served meals in Styrofoam containers with plastic utensils. Review of the facility’s “Quality of Life – Dignity” policy, dated August 2009, indicated that each resident should be cared for in a manner that promotes and enhances quality of life, dignity, respect, and individuality, and that staff should promote, maintain, and protect resident privacy. The use of disposable dishware and cutlery during meal services was determined to be inconsistent with these dignity standards, leading to the cited deficiency under the referenced complaint number.
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