Unsafe food handling and kitchen sanitation practices were observed in the dining room and main kitchen. Staff handled ready-to-eat foods with bare hands, failed to wash hands between tasks and after bathroom use, and touched food, dishes, and meal tickets while plating and serving meals. The facility also kept moldy croissants in dry storage, used a pencil to prop up a hood drip pan, and allowed a dietary aide with artificial nails and multiple bracelets to serve residents.
The facility failed to maintain and document safe food temperatures during meal service, resulting in cold foods being held and served within the temperature danger zone and incomplete temperature logs on multiple days. During a lunch service observation, various forms of chicken salad were held at 45–55°F, yet plates were assembled and sent out, and a resident reported that meals delivered to the room were always cold and often not eaten. Staff interviews showed inconsistent understanding of required hot and cold holding temperatures and confirmed that temperature logs were sometimes not completed as required.
Staff failed to follow required food-handling and hand hygiene practices during a dinner meal service, repeatedly touching ready-to-eat items such as hot dog buns with bare hands after handling meal tickets, countertops, wet towels, trays, plates, utensils, and their clothing, and then assembling meatball sandwiches and other plates placed on trays and in meal carts for residents. Although staff later reported awareness that bread and buns should not be handled with bare hands and that gloves or utensils should be used for ready-to-eat foods, observations showed inconsistent handwashing and lack of glove use while preparing and serving these foods.
Improper Hand Hygiene and Glove Use During Meal Service: During meal service, a cook and the DM repeatedly handled food, clean dishware, utensils, and high-touch surfaces with the same gloves without changing them or performing hand hygiene. Staff were observed plating food, retrieving items from the refrigerator, and touching the eating surfaces of plates and sandwiches with gloved hands, while interviews confirmed they knew gloves should be changed after touching surfaces and before handling food.
Dishwashing Room Not Maintained in Good Repair: Surveyors found the facility’s dishwashing room was not maintained in accordance with food service safety standards. Observations included chipped paint, debris and lint on vent covers, a partially unpainted wall, dusty ceiling pipes, torn floor laminate, a separated baseboard, and dirt and debris on the floor. The NHA said he was not aware of the issues, and the RD said she had not submitted any work orders.
Improper glove use during food preparation. A cook and the regional dietary supervisor were observed handling ready-to-eat foods in the kitchen without changing gloves or performing hand hygiene between tasks. The cook prepared a PB&J sandwich, dinner rolls, and hamburgers while touching utensils, refrigerator doors, packaging, and multiple food items with the same gloves. The regional dietary supervisor also handled packaged lettuce, boiled eggs, ham, and salad ingredients with the same gloves while assembling chef salads.
Dietary staff repeatedly failed to perform hand hygiene during meal service, including before food handling, after bathroom use, after touching their faces, after handling dirty dishes, and before resuming plating. Staff also placed used gloves and paper towels on the serving table while food was still being served and rested on the serving table without sanitizing. In addition, staff served and moved beverages by holding the rims of cups, which staff interviews confirmed should not occur.
Hand hygiene lapses during meal service led to a sanitation deficiency in the kitchen, dining room, and secured memory unit. A dietary employee plated ready-to-eat food while repeatedly touching resident plates with his thumbs, handled a wrapper picked up from the floor with bare hands, and returned to plating without washing his hands. A dietary consultant observed the practice and directed him to hold plates from the side instead of placing his thumb on top of resident plates.
Improper Hand Hygiene and Glove Use During Meal Service: A cook was observed plating and serving food in the main kitchen with bare hands and gloves used inconsistently during meal service. He handled ready-to-eat items, including hot dogs, buns, and grilled cheese sandwiches, without hand hygiene before donning gloves and continued using the same gloved hands to touch multiple foods and utensils. The DM stated staff were expected to wash hands before and after glove use and to discard gloves after single use.
Food storage and labeling failures were found in the main kitchen and unit nourishment refrigerators/freezers. Surveyors observed multiple unlabeled, undated, or expired food items, including meat, baked goods, sandwiches, ice cream products, and resident snacks and beverages. Staff, including the RD and activities assistant, stated that kitchen and dietary staff were responsible for cleaning, discarding outdated items, and keeping these storage areas labeled and dated, but no cleaning logs were available and one nourishment area had not been cleaned for over three months.
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