Dear Residents, Family Members, and Staff of Wesley Health Care Center,
I am writing to remind everyone of the Department of Health’s regulations regarding food storage, which we must follow to ensure compliance and the safety of our community. Per these requirements, all external food brought int o the facility must be properly labeled and dated upon arrival if it is not going to be consumed immediately. To assist with this process, food labeling instructions and labels have been updated at the Springs main entrance. Upon your next visit, please familiarize yourself with this process in the vestibule at the Springs Main entrance. There will also be a question added to the kiosk to promptly remind you of this requirement when signing in.
Additionally, please not that residential-sized, resident-specific refrigerators are located on each unit in the Hathorn and Victoria Building, and a larger-sized refrigerator in the Springs building dining room areas for proper resident food storage use.
Upon entering the facility with food or beverages (including takeout), we ask that you follow these procedures:
- Labeling Requirements: All items must be labeled with the resident’s name, the date of deliver, and a “consume-by” date of three days post-delivery.
- Inspection and Discard Policy: Any food items that are not labeled will be discarded by Dining Services staff upon inspection.
- Storage Duration: Resident food will be kept for three days from the label date and discarded thereafter, except for:
- Unopened, pre-packed food, which will be discarded based on the manufacturer’s expiration date. Once opened, these items must follow the three day discard rule.
- Perishable Food: All perishable food items must be refrigerated as soon as possible and should not remain unrefrigerated for more than two hours.
In order to maintain compliance and protect the well-being of our residents, we kindly request your cooperation with the following additional guidelines:
- Food in Resident Rooms: It is not recommended to store food in resident rooms for safety and health reasons. Please notify your RN Unit Coordinator if you plan to do so, so that proper procedure may be followed.
- Prohibited Items: Foraged foods and wild game are not allowed for safety purposes.
- Notification of Staff: If your loved one cannot independently retrieve or request the food you have delivered and stored in the resident-specific refrigerator., please notify the RN at the time of delivery. This ensures that the food is offered to them during meal times.
- Refrigeration: All labeled and dated items must be stored in the designated resident refrigerators.
- No Sharing Policy: To prevent cross-contamination, food brought in for a specific resident should not be shared with others.
- Safe Preparation Practices: We encourage safe food handling practices to ensure that meals provided are safe for consumption.
- Dietary Considerations: Please ensure that the food aligns with the resident’s dietary restrictions or preferences. Our Nutritional Services team is available to assist in modifying external food to meet dietary needs safely.
- Heating Food: For safety reasons, we ask that you request assistance from Nursing or Dietary staff when heating food. Please avoid using microwaves independently.
We appreciate your attention to these important safety measures, and we thank you for your cooperation in keeping our community safe and compliant with health regulations.
Sincerely,
Jessica L. Florio, Administrator