Failure to label and remove expired food from resident refrigerators. Two residents had personal refrigerators containing unlabeled, undated, or expired items, including yogurt, probiotic drinks, and candy brought in by family. The DON said CMAs checked temperatures while managers were supposed to check for expired food and labeling each morning, but specific room assignments were not identified and new management staff were still being trained.
Undated food items were found in two residents’ personal refrigerators, including cake, a sandwich, milk, and melting ice cream stored in the refrigerator area instead of the freezer area. Both residents had intact cognition and required setup or clean-up assistance with eating, and nursing staff stated the food should have been checked, labeled, and dated when refrigerator temperatures were monitored.
Undated, unlabeled bean dip with visible fuzzy, slimy patches was found in a resident’s personal refrigerator. The resident had intact cognition and said he stored snacks there but had forgotten the bean dip. CNA and LVN staff confirmed the item was present, and the DON stated nursing staff were responsible for removing undated, unlabeled food items and helping families label and date food brought in.
Unlabeled and Undated Food in Resident Refrigerator: A resident with COPD, muscle wasting, and Alzheimer’s disease had food in a personal refrigerator that was wrapped in plastic but not labeled or dated. An LVN said the food was bread, possibly brought by family, but she did not know how long it had been stored. The DON stated nurses were responsible for daily oversight of the refrigerator and for dating and labeling food brought in by family members.
Personal refrigerator food storage and temperature monitoring were not maintained for several resident rooms. Multiple refrigerators contained assorted food items, including dairy, condiments, sausages, and beverages, while no temp logs were found and internal temps were documented above the required range in some rooms. The ADM, DON, and DM stated residents or families were generally responsible for cleaning and maintaining the refrigerators, but there was no assigned daily staff task or log for monitoring temps or expired food.
A resident with intact cognition and multiple medical diagnoses had a personal refrigerator containing an unlabeled, undated container with visibly spoiled contents, which remained in place on repeat observation. The resident reported storing snacks but was unaware of the requirement to date items and did not know about the container. The assigned CNA and LVN both confirmed the presence of the unlabeled, undated food and gave differing or incomplete understandings of responsibility for checking personal refrigerators, while the DON stated that all staff, overseen by charge nurses, were responsible for weekly monitoring and for ensuring perishable items in residents’ refrigerators were labeled and dated per facility policy.
Personal Refrigerator Not Maintained at Safe Temperature: A resident with Parkinson's disease and dementia kept meals in her room and had a personal refrigerator that was not cool on observation. Staff found the refrigerator at 48.9 degrees with no thermometer or temperature log, while the DON stated residents monitor their own refrigerators and nursing should help with the contents. The facility policy stated the refrigerator compartment should be maintained at 35-41 degrees.
The facility failed to follow its policy requiring daily temperature monitoring and documentation for residents’ personal in-room refrigerators and freezers used to store food brought by families and visitors. Several residents with multiple chronic conditions and varying cognitive status had personal refrigerators containing perishable items such as milk and ice cream, but temperature logs showed entries on only some days, with gaps where no temperatures were recorded. Although observed temperatures were within acceptable ranges at the time of survey, logs for multiple refrigerators were incomplete, and staff interviews revealed confusion over which department was responsible for daily temperature checks and that existing rounding tools did not instruct staff to verify refrigerator and freezer temperatures as required by policy.
Unlabeled Food Stored in Resident Refrigerator: A resident’s personal refrigerator contained a small plastic container and foil-wrapped food brought by family, but neither item had a date or label. The resident said the food was apple pie from her daughter and did not know when it was brought in. The LVN stated the items were not dated or labeled, and the DON said nurses were responsible for monitoring the resident’s refrigerator daily and dating and labeling food brought in by family. The resident had pneumonia, dysphagia, and muscle wasting and atrophy, and her care plan included a regular diet with thin liquids.
Expired and unlabeled food was found in a resident's personal refrigerator. The refrigerator contained sealed pudding cups past the expiration date and a half-eaten cupcake without an open or expiration date. The resident had Alzheimer’s disease, a BIMS of 5, and severe cognitive impairment. Staff reported they checked refrigerator temperatures, but one housekeeper said she did not check food dates and had not been told to do so, while the facility policy required outside food to be labeled and handled properly.
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