Dog at Dining Table and Lack of Hand Hygiene Breach Infection Control Policy
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency in the facility’s infection prevention and control program when a visitor’s dog was allowed at a dining table while residents were eating. During observation of the memory care unit dining area at lunchtime, two residents were seated together at a small table, each accompanied by a visitor. The visitor for Resident #77 was holding a small dog that repeatedly laid its head on the dining table. When Resident #77’s lunch tray arrived, the visitor continued to hold the dog and began feeding the resident without performing hand hygiene. An interview with LPN #384 confirmed that the visitor had been present prior to lunch, had continuously held the dog, and had not washed her hands or put the dog down at any point before feeding the resident. In a separate interview, the DON confirmed that having a dog at the table while residents were eating, and holding a dog while feeding a resident without hand hygiene, constituted an infection control issue and was against the facility’s infection control policy. Review of the facility’s Infection Control Prevention Policy, updated 01/11/25, showed that the facility’s policy was to provide care in a safe environment that promoted health and reduced the risk of acquiring infections. This incident was cited as an incidental finding of non-compliance during investigation of a master complaint.
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