In this edition of The State of IJs, we’re spotlighting the lone Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) citation issued to a nursing home in Hawaii in 2025. Remember, IJ citations represent the most serious level of noncompliance, where resident safety is at immediate risk. The citation we’re going to discuss is one that could happen in any kitchen, and when it does, your facility very well could be looking at a widespread IJ, just like this facility.
F812 Food Procurement, Store/ Serve – Sanitary
F812 is a tag that covers a lot of areas, including everything that goes on in the kitchen, and some years, there are more IJs than we’d like to see for this tag, but in 2025, there are only a couple so far. Let’s take a look at what happened in Hawaii earlier this year.
F812 S/S: L
The facility was cited for not ensuring staff waited for the dish machine water temperature to rise to 180 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for the final rinse. Staff were observed using the dishwasher, and when questioned by the surveyor, the employee stated that the final rinse temperature was at 172 degrees Fahrenheit – too low. The employee was unable to state what the final rinse temperature was required to be for the high temperature dish machine. Since the proper functioning of the dish machine impacted all the residents in the facility, the IJ was cited as widespread.
Compliance Insights
This is one of those tags that could be cited in any facility, so make sure you’ve got tight systems and appropriate monitoring is being conducted. Some helpful reminders:
- Is your Food Service Director using the Kitchen Inspection tool from the LTCSP? It’s a key to success on survey. (View current CE Pathways here.)
- During the kitchen inspection in the citation discussed, the temperature logs were reviewed and all entries indicated that the temperatures were within the appropriate temperature range – yet there was still a problem. Ensure there is appropriate monitoring/ auditing of temperatures and logs to ensure their accuracy. We discussed the importance of temperatures and logs in another IJ post where a facility ended up in hot water related to water temps throughout the building.
- Quiz responsible staff – they need to be able to answer a surveyor inspecting the kitchen since they will be asked about a variety of concerns, including dishwasher temperatures and their responsibility is to know what the acceptable temperature range is. Not every facility uses a high temperature dishwasher, so staff may have had a different experience. Ensure the staff know the temperature thresholds that need to be met for the specific type of machine in your facility.
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