F0925

F

Failure to Maintain Effective Pest and Rodent Control on Nursing Units and Kitchen

Scranton, Pennsylvania Survey Completed on 01-23-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program to keep the building free of insects and rodents on Nursing Units 3 and 4 and in the kitchen. The facility’s own Preventative Maintenance Program policy required an ongoing pest control program to ensure the building was kept free of insects and rodents. Documentation showed that the facility contracted with a licensed pest control company to perform remediation services twice weekly, including mass trapping and baiting on upper floors and monitoring lower floors, and recommended that food in resident rooms be stored in plastic containers. Pest control service records documented several visits with interior perimeter inspections and treatments, including common areas, bathrooms, and hallways, and noted roach treatment at a first-floor coffee station and rodent droppings on the fourth floor.

Despite these measures, surveyor observations and interviews showed ongoing pest activity that was not effectively addressed. On one observation date, a dead cockroach was found behind a resident’s bed in a resident room, and rodent droppings and significant food debris and crumbs were observed in drawers and throughout the third-floor kitchenette. The outside pest control provider reported being aware of roaches since an earlier visit and confirmed that no additional targeted treatment for roaches had been provided since that time, with efforts focused instead on mice activity on the fourth and fifth floors and only general treatment on other floors. The Director of Maintenance stated that construction on the first floor may have contributed to cockroaches moving toward the kitchen and acknowledged that the facility was not implementing preventative measures specific to cockroach control in the kitchen.