Failure to Implement Effective Pest Control for Mouse Infestation
Penalty
Summary
Failure to implement effective and timely pest control measures resulted in an ongoing mouse infestation affecting resident rooms and common areas. Multiple residents reported frequently seeing mice in their rooms, including one resident who stated she sees mice "all of the time" and recently observed a mouse running from her room into the hallway. Another resident reported seeing mice in her room on approximately ten different occasions and overheard a nurse say a mouse was seen coming out of a power outlet. This resident also had pressure ulcers on her coccyx and expressed concern about the mouse infestation. Observations showed food stored in resident rooms, including food in containers and bags on a nightstand, and clutter such as stacked plastic totes, bags of clothing, and miscellaneous items on beds and in rooms. Residents described taking their own measures to address the mice, including one resident who kept Rat/Mice X products in his walker seat and placed them in the corners of his room, and another who found a dead mouse between stacked plastic totes and removed it herself. That same resident reported a mouse caught in a sticky trap that she moved to a hallway garbage can, and described watching two baby mice playing on her floor by her bed and hearing mice in the walls at night. Staff interviews corroborated the infestation, with an RN reporting seeing mice in the breakroom and hearing resident complaints of mice in rooms. A physical therapy assistant reported a broken bed in a back hallway piled with old wheelchair parts and bags of unknown items, and stated she had observed a resident who liked to store food in that bed and had seen mouse droppings there. The maintenance director acknowledged awareness of a mouse problem in the building for almost a year and stated it worsened during cold weather. He reported that an outside pest control company visits monthly and as needed, and that nurses are instructed to document mouse sightings in a book for targeted treatment. However, he and the administrator both stated that a recent pest control visit did not occur as planned because the company reported being out of bait and products. The dietary manager confirmed there was a mouse problem and stated more proactive treatment was needed, noting that mice had been trapped in a live trap under the three-compartment sink in the kitchen, although she had not personally seen mice or droppings in the kitchen and food there was contained. The facility’s pest control policy required an ongoing program to keep the building free of insects and rodents and prohibited accumulation of garbage and trash, but the observed mouse activity, resident reports, cluttered rooms and storage areas, and reliance on residents’ own pest control efforts demonstrated that effective pest control measures were not implemented.
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