Failure to Maintain Effective Pest Control in Kitchen and Resident Areas
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program to prevent and eliminate rodents in the kitchen dry storage area, with the potential to affect all 266 residents. During an observation of the dry storage area with the Dietary Manager, surveyors noted visible dirt, spilled dried grits, and approximately 22 pieces of mice droppings on the floor by the wall under the bottom shelf. When asked, the Dietary Manager identified the droppings as mice droppings. The Regional Director of Operations also observed the area and acknowledged that the facility has problems with mice, attributing this to the kitchen’s proximity to an alley. The Regional Director stated that the pest control company comes regularly to the building. In a resident council meeting, residents unanimously reported that pest control, including rodents and roaches, is an ongoing concern throughout the facility. One resident stated that their room has rats and mice running through it a few days a week and reported last seeing rodents in the facility the previous day. When the Dietary Manager was later asked why there were so many mice droppings and why staff who accessed food items for breakfast did not clean the dirty floor and droppings, she stated she had been off work for several days and had just returned, and that the kitchen floor should be cleaned every day by staff. The facility’s undated Pest Policy states that an effective pest control program must be in place and that maintenance staff and all staff are responsible for maintaining a clean, safe, and comfortable environment free of pests or rodents.
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