Chalet Rehab: Kitchen Hair Safety Violation - IN
The inspection was completed June 5, 2026. The finding that triggered the deficiency citation came from a follow-up kitchen observation conducted four days earlier, on June 1, between 12:20 and 12:40 in the afternoon.
During that observation, the cook, identified in the report only as Cook 4, was working at a food preparation table on the opposite side of the steam table holding the noon meal. He was assembling resident food trays. He had facial hair roughly half an inch long above his upper lip and sideburns in front of both ears. Neither was covered.
The Dietary Manager, interviewed that same afternoon at 1:20 p.m., said staff hair, including facial hair, was supposed to be kept covered while in the kitchen. At 1:46 p.m., the manager handed over an undated copy of the facility's Personal Hygiene and Health Reporting policy and identified it as the one currently in use. The policy stated that hair restraints must be worn around exposed foods, and that beards and mustaches must be restrained using beard covers.
Cook 4 was not wearing one.
Indiana's food safety regulations, Title 410 IAC 7-26, which took effect April 15, 2025, require food employees to wear hats, hair coverings, nets, or other restraints designed to keep hair from contacting exposed food. The facility's own policy required the same thing. The cook was doing neither, in plain view, during the lunch service.
Inspectors classified the violation as causing minimal harm or potential for actual harm, and noted it affected many residents, given that Cook 4 was preparing trays for the general population during a regular meal service.
The deficiency fell under the federal requirement that facilities serve food in accordance with professional standards. It was the only violation cited in this inspection.
What the report does not explain is how long this had been happening. The observation on June 1 was a follow-up, which means inspectors had already been in the building before that date. Whether Cook 4 had been working without a beard cover for days, weeks, or longer, the inspection report does not say. The Dietary Manager did not indicate when the policy had last been reviewed with kitchen staff, and the copy of the policy provided to inspectors was undated.
A single uncovered mustache during a single lunch service might seem minor. Hair in food is a contamination risk, not a theoretical one. It is the reason food safety codes exist, the reason the facility wrote its own policy requiring beard covers, and the reason the Dietary Manager confirmed to inspectors that the rule applied. The gap was not between what the rules required and what the facility knew. The gap was between what the facility said it required and what was actually happening at the food preparation table on a Tuesday afternoon.
Chalet Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center is located at 4851 Tincher Road in Indianapolis. For information on the facility's plan to correct the deficiency, the inspection report directs inquiries to the nursing home or the Indiana state survey agency.
The residents who received those trays on June 1 did not know their lunch had been prepared by someone whose facial hair was uncovered and unrestrained. They were not in a position to check.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Chalet Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center from 2026-06-05 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Download the official CMS inspection PDF from Medicare.gov
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.
Editorial process: Inspection findings are extracted from CMS source documents and synthesized using AI, reviewed for factual accuracy against the original report by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: September 19, 2026 · Our methodology
CHALET REHABILITATION AND HEALTHCARE CENTER in INDIANAPOLIS, IN was cited for violations during a health inspection on June 5, 2026.
The inspection was completed June 5, 2026.
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.