The 92-bed nursing home failed to serve food at safe and appetizing temperatures across four of five hallways tested, inspectors documented. Hot foods weren't served hot. Cold foods weren't served cold.
Resident 58 had been asking for three months to update meal preferences when inspectors arrived.
"The food is terrible, they have not updated any meal preferences with me, I asked the manager almost three months ago," the resident told inspectors on December 15. "The food is cold, we are last to get meals sometimes they run out, I usually do not get what I ask for. When they send us food, generally it is all mixed together."
Fifty minutes later, staff delivered the resident's lunch. Turkey burger with lettuce and tomato. Baked beans on the same plate.
The beans were running under the hamburger bun.
"I wish they would have put those beans in a bowl," Resident 58 told the inspector.
The Food Service Director confirmed the presentation problem when inspectors showed her the plate. She also confirmed she had never updated the resident's meal preferences despite months of requests.
Temperature violations extended beyond individual meals. On December 15 at 12:45 PM, inspectors asked the Director of Dining to check milk temperatures on the west hall beverage cart.
Fifty-four degrees Fahrenheit.
The Director of Dining acknowledged the temperature exceeded Food and Drug Administration standards. The FDA food code requires milk to stay at 41 degrees or below.
Two days later, inspectors found staff couldn't document food temperatures at all. Employee 152 said the cook was supposed to write temperatures on production sheets for lunch menu items.
The cook hadn't written them down.
The temperature failures affected multiple areas of the facility. Inspectors tested beverage carts in five hallways and found problems in four. They tested meal trays throughout their survey and documented temperature violations in every tray examined.
Resident 58's complaints extended beyond temperature to basic meal satisfaction. The resident described a pattern of receiving incorrect orders, running out of food options, and meals arriving as unappetizing combinations on single plates.
The facility's dining director acknowledged she was aware of the resident's preference requests but had taken no action over the three-month period. When inspectors observed the lunch delivery, the presentation matched exactly what the resident had complained about - different food items mixing together on the plate instead of being properly separated.
The milk temperature violation represented a clear food safety risk. At 54 degrees, dairy products can harbor dangerous bacteria growth. The 13-degree difference between the measured temperature and the FDA requirement indicates a systematic failure in cold storage protocols.
Staff interviews revealed gaps in basic food safety monitoring. The employee responsible for documenting temperatures couldn't provide the required documentation, and the cook had abandoned the temperature logging system entirely.
The December 22 inspection was conducted in response to complaints about the facility's food service operations. Inspectors classified the violations as causing minimal harm or potential for actual harm to residents.
Willows Center operates at 723 Summers Street in Parkersburg. The facility's food service failures affected an undetermined number of the 92 residents during the inspection period.
The resident who spoke with inspectors had been waiting three months for basic meal preference updates while receiving cold food and unappetizing presentations. The baked beans running into the hamburger bun represented exactly the kind of "all mixed together" presentation the resident had complained about.
Temperature control represents a fundamental aspect of food safety in nursing homes. When milk reaches 54 degrees and staff can't document hot food temperatures, residents face both immediate health risks and the daily reality of unpalatable meals.
Resident 58 continued receiving the same problematic meal service throughout the three-month period leading up to the inspection.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Willows Center from 2025-12-22 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.