HospitalInspections.org

Based on a follow-up visit to the facility beginning 9-8-14, the director of dietary services failed to be responsible for daily management of the dietary services by not ensuring a frozen food storage area that maintained safe storage temperatures. Failure to maintain safe storage temperatures presented a risk to all patients, staff, and visitors consuming food prepared in the dietary department.

Findings included:

During a tour of the hospital kitchen the morning of 09/08/14 accompanied by Administrative Staff #6 and Dietary Staff #1, the following was observed:
? The door handle to the walk-in freezer was observed to be broken and incapable of fully latching and securely closing the freezer door. A new latch with a roller mechanism had been placed at the top midsection of the freezer door. This latch was not effectively closing the freezer when observed by the surveyors. According to staff member #1 "The door latch was working before. It just broke this morning."
? An accumulation of ice observed inside the threshold of the freezer door, approximately half an inch thick, prevented the freezer door from creating an effective seal. After observation of the ice accumulation by the surveyor, a food service worker, at the request of the food service manager, used a mop handle to forcefully break and remove the ice to allow the freezer door to be pushed closed; however, as the latch was broken, the door would not stay closed tightly. It was observed the bottom right corner of the freezer door appeared to be warped and bowed outward, preventing an effective seal.
? Several plastic light fixture covers were observed to be broken with jagged plastic exposed, presenting a hazard of plastic falling into food preparation areas.
Also during the tour of the hospital kitchen on the morning of 09/09/14 accompanied by Administrative Staff #6 and Dietary Staff #1, the following issues were observed:
? Review of the temperature log for the Walk-In Freezer revealed the acceptable temperature of less than or equal to zero (0) degrees Fahrenheit for August 2014. Per the temperature log for September 2014, 2 of 9 morning temperatures were above zero degrees Fahrenheit and 1 of 8 evening temperatures were above zero degrees Fahrenheit. In an interview the morning of 9/9/14 with Dietary Staff #1, they confirmed the above out of range findings. Administrative Staff #1 stated that when the temperatures are out of range, there should be action taken and the action taken should be documented on the form.
? Two damp areas of accumulated condensation were noted above the freezer door. A 3rd area of accumulated condensation, measuring approximately 5" by 10" and black in color was noted to the upper right area above the freezer door. Upon a visit to the kitchen on the afternoon of 9-9-14, the black area of accumulated condensation was gone. In an interview with Dietary Staff #1 during the afternoon kitchen visit, Dietary Staff #1 stated that the blackened area of condensation had been wiped off as part of the daily external cleaning of the walk-in freezer and other appliances. When asked if the blackened area of condensation formed on the outside of the freezer on a daily basis, Dietary Staff #1 stated that it did.
? During the visit to the kitchen on the afternoon of 9-9-14, Administrative Staff #8 stated that the vendor for the freezer door had been contacted to examine the freezer door and either repair or replace it. By the conclusion of the facility visit on 9-9-14 at approximately 5:00 pm, no recommendations for the freezer door had been presented or made available to the survey team.

The above was confirmed in an interview with Dietary Staff #1 and Administrative Staff #8 on the afternoon of 9-9-14.