Remember to Wash Your Hands! (California)

During a state survey, the surveyor noticed that dining and nursing staff were touching ready-to-eat food with their bare hands. This included salads, deli sandwiches, and rolls. The surveyor asked for the handwashing and glove use policy. The policy did state that employees are required to wear gloves when handling ready-to-eat food that will not be cooked or prepared prior to serving to a resident. Next, the surveyor asked to see any inservices that were done regarding glove usage. The community did have an inservice that was given about a month prior. Some of the staff were not present for the inservice and did not receive the inservice materials nor did they take a post-test to measure their understanding.

In response, the community quickly pulled together the dining and nursing team to provide an inservice on washing hands and glove usage. After the inservice, there were no additional occurrences of staff touching food with their bare hands. The dietitian worked with the community to implement a strong yearly inservice schedule. Inservices were given consistently over the year and covered key food safety and meal service requirements. When the survey teamed showed up the following year there were no citations for improper glove use.