Failure to Maintain Pest-Free Resident Rooms
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that resident rooms were free from pests, specifically flies, for two residents who were roommates on the B-wing. One resident, a male with a tracheostomy, traumatic brain injury, and left-sided hemiplegia, was observed lying in bed with 4-6 flies flying around and landing on him. He had difficulty waving the flies away and indicated that they were bothering him. No pest reduction methods were present in the room at the time, and more than a dozen flies were observed in the room. The second resident, a male with intracranial injury, quadriplegia, and dysphagia, was seen resting in a reclined wheelchair with several flies landing on his face and crawling across his nose and cheek. Due to quadriplegia, he was unable to scare the flies away himself. The pest control specialist stated that while treatments for flies exist, they cannot be used in resident rooms and that their main intervention is a chemical spray in open areas. The specialist also reported not being notified of any pest issues in specific resident rooms. The Safety Director confirmed that staff are expected to report pest issues so they can be addressed, but he was not informed about the fly problem affecting these two residents. The facility's pest control policy requires maintaining an effective program to control common pests, including flies.