Failure to Maintain Effective Interior Pest Control Program
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain an on-going, effective pest control management program that monitored, identified, controlled, and prevented pest infestations throughout the building, including interior areas. One resident with DM II, depression, COPD, and fluctuating capacity, but assessed as cognitively intact and requiring maximal assistance with toileting and showers and total assistance with chair-to-bed transfers, reported seeing cockroaches in her room and in the hallway outside her room on multiple occasions over the prior several months. She stated she informed facility staff, who responded by killing the cockroaches by stepping on them and discarding them in the trash. Another cognitively intact resident with asthma, anxiety disorder, and muscle weakness, who required moderate assistance with toileting and transfers and was dependent for chair-to-bed transfers, reported seeing cockroaches in her room two to three weeks prior and expressed worry that the cockroaches would crawl onto her bed. Record review and staff and contractor interviews showed that the facility’s pest control program focused on monthly exterior inspections and treatments conducted by a pest control management company, while the interior of the facility was not included in routine monthly inspections. The Maintenance Supervisor confirmed that the pest control company only inspected the exterior monthly and that interior inspections were done only when specific pest issues were identified and reported, and further stated there was no documented record indicating that the facility’s interior was routinely inspected as part of the pest control program. The facility’s pest control policy, last revised on 11/6/2025, stated that the facility would maintain an effective, on-going pest control program to keep the building free of insects and rodents. The Maintenance Supervisor acknowledged that the lack of an on-going, effective pest control program, including routine interior inspections, had the potential for pest infestation that could lead to infection and illness among residents.
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