Santa Anita Convalescent: Cold Food Served to Residents - CA
The admission came on August 15, 2025, the same afternoon a complaint inspection was underway. At 3 p.m., inspectors sat down with the administrator to review the facility's written food temperature policy. The policy was plain. Hot foods, including casseroles, pasta, and vegetables, must be served at more than 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold items like milk and juice must stay below 41 degrees. And if something comes out of the kitchen at the wrong temperature, staff are supposed to reheat it or chill it before it reaches a resident.
That did not happen for Resident 2.
The administrator told inspectors the policy meant what it said: serving temperature is the temperature when food actually reaches the resident. Not when it leaves the kitchen. Not when it lands on a cart in the hallway. When it arrives in front of the person eating it.
By that standard, lunch had failed.
The facility's Quality Assurance Nurse said the same thing when inspectors asked. Serving temperature means the temperature of the food when it gets to residents. The QAN and the administrator were in agreement on what the policy required. Neither disputed that Resident 2's meal had not met it.
The deficiency was tagged at the lowest level of harm, meaning inspectors found minimal harm or potential for actual harm, and noted that only a few residents were affected. But the violation was not a matter of interpretation or a disputed reading of the rules. The administrator confirmed it on the record, in the same conversation where inspectors reviewed the policy she was responsible for enforcing.
Santa Anita Convalescent Hospital operates at 5522 Gracewood Avenue in Temple City. The food temperature policy inspectors reviewed had been revised as recently as January 31, 2025, less than seven months before the inspection. The prior version dated to January 2019. The requirement to reheat or chill food that misses the mark was written into both.
What the inspection report does not say is how long Resident 2's pasta and carrots sat before they were served, or whether anyone checked their temperature before delivering the tray. It does not say whether Resident 2 ate the food or refused it, or whether staff noticed the temperature problem before inspectors arrived. The record shows only that by the time the question was asked, the answer was already known, and the administrator gave it without apparent dispute.
A facility's written policy is only as useful as the moment someone checks whether it is being followed. On August 15, that check came from outside.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Santa Anita Convalescent Hospital from 2025-08-15 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: This article is based on inspection data downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases inspection reports in bulk; we publish the findings as documented by state surveyors in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies.
Plan of correction: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to state survey agencies and those responses may not be reflected in CMS data at the time of publication. The absence of a plan of correction in our data does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken are encouraged to contact the facility directly or their state survey agency.
Corrections may have occurred: Inspection reports reflect conditions observed on the date of the survey. Facilities may have implemented corrections, staffing changes, additional training, or other remediation since the report was issued. We report what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.
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Last verified: October 26, 2026 · Our methodology
SANTA ANITA CONVALESCENT HOSPITAL in TEMPLE CITY, CA was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 15, 2025.
The admission came on August 15, 2025, the same afternoon a complaint inspection was underway.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.