Failure to Maintain Effective Roach Control and Sanitary Waste Management
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program to eliminate roaches, affecting one of three residents reviewed and potentially all 247 residents. A housekeeping aide reported seeing roaches during routine cleaning, most recently about one week prior on the fourth floor, and stated she uses roach spray in resident rooms when she sees many roaches and reports sightings continuously to the Administrator. Another housekeeping aide reported last seeing roaches about two months earlier in resident rooms and stated that after he reports sightings to the Administrator, the pest control company typically comes the following week. During observation of a resident in his room, the resident reported seeing roaches daily, especially at night, and stated he could not eat food in his room without roaches crawling into it and that roaches were on his bed and chair at night and felt as if they were biting him. At that time, the surveyor observed multiple roaches crawling under and on the resident’s motorized wheelchair and on the wall near the bathroom. When this was brought to the housekeeping aide’s attention, he acknowledged they were roaches and commented that they appeared because there was “company,” indicating awareness of an ongoing roach presence in the environment. The Housekeeping Director stated that staff and residents frequently report roach sightings to him and the Maintenance Supervisor, that pest control visits occur bimonthly and as needed, and that there is a pest control sighting book on each unit. However, he admitted that he and the Maintenance Supervisor do not check these books and that only the pest control company reviews them during bimonthly visits, meaning there could be unaddressed sightings. He also acknowledged seeing a roach in the pantry one week earlier and killing it without contacting pest control for an as-needed visit. The Maintenance Supervisor confirmed that staff and residents report sightings to him and the Housekeeping Director, denied knowledge of the pest control books, and reported seeing a roach in a shower room about a month earlier without notifying pest control until their next scheduled visit. Additionally, inspection of the dumpster area revealed open and overflowing dumpsters with trash and old food scattered from the ramp to the dumpster, contrary to the facility’s policies requiring sealed trash bags, closed and clean dumpsters, and grounds free of debris, as well as the pest control policy assigning responsibility for coordinating pest control and maintaining conditions that prevent insect harborage.
We Help Long-Term Care Teams Stay Survey-Ready
We process and analyze inspection reports and plan of correction using AI to extract insights and trends so providers can improve care quality and stay ahead of compliance risks.