Photos taken from the kitchen show unsanitary conditions including mice, a hole in the wall and serving expired food.
Joint Commission and the Food Drug Administration visited the Hines VA Medical Center to inspect the hospital’s kitchen.
According to a news source, photos taken from the kitchen show unsanitary conditions including mice, a hole in the wall and serving expired food.
Screenshots further showed the hospital’s head of food and nutrition, Valerie Adegunleye, was selling handbags for her side business while working at the hospital.
The JC according to its website is an independent, not-for-profit organization which accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.
While not a government regulator, their accreditation service for hospitals is akin to the seal of approval for other industries.
But Hines VA employee and whistleblower Germaine Clarno said she was suspicious of the timing of the visit, according to a news source. Clarno said that she filed a complaint with JC about the kitchen in early February but that the complaint sat on someone’s desk until the story of unsanitary kitchen came out.
The report noted that numerous protocols were not being followed.
“During review of the logs kept by the facilities department for the kitchen freezer and refrigerator temperatures using the Temp Trak system, it was noted that for multiple dates for the last month, the temperatures recorded were out of range for prolonged periods, but no corrective actions were documented,” the report stated. “During review of the temperature logs kept of foods prepared by the kitchen cooks for the last month, it was noted that not all raw or plant food items cooked for each meal were being monitored for appropriate cooking temperatures achieved as required by the 2013 (USDA/FDA) Food Code Section 3-401.11.”
