Pest Control Deficiency at Deer Meadows Rehabilitation Center
Summary
Deer Meadows Rehabilitation Center was found to be non-compliant with the requirement to maintain an effective pest control program, as outlined in 42 CFR Part 483.90(i)(4). Observations and interviews conducted during an abbreviated survey revealed significant pest issues on one of the facility's nursing units, specifically Bair 1. On March 10, 2025, a unit manager was observed killing roaches in the hallway, and both staff and residents reported sightings of roaches and mice in various areas, including resident rooms. Resident R5 reported seeing numerous roaches and mice in her room, and roach bait was observed to be full of roaches. Another resident, R6, also reported seeing roaches and bugs in his room. A review of pest control reports from the previous two months indicated ongoing pest issues. On February 7, 2025, roach activity was noted throughout Bair 1. On February 25, 2025, mice activity was reported in the maintenance shop and heavy mice activity was observed in the kitchen. Rooms 113, 100, and 102 were reported to have mice and roaches, with recommendations for better sanitation in room 100. On March 5, 2025, roach activity was reported in room 106 on Bair 1, but treatment was hindered by the presence of a sleeping resident. The Nursing Home Administrator confirmed the presence of roaches and mice in the facility during an interview on March 10, 2025.
Plan Of Correction
The provider submits the following plan of correction in good faith and to comply with Federal regulation. This plan is not an admission of wrongdoing nor does it reflect agreement with the facts and conclusion stated in the statement of deficiencies. Rooms with exterminator baited boxes that were full were removed from the rooms. Deep cleaning and exterminator treatment of all rooms in Bair 1 was completed on 3/25/2025. Bair 2 deep cleaning/exterminator treatment will be completed by 4/1/2025. All staff will be educated by staff educator/designee about logging all pest concerns by room number or location in the exterminator log book. Deep cleaning and treatment will be completed by the exterminator for rooms and identified locations. The Director of Housekeeping will complete a weekly audit of rooms in Bair 1 for sanitation, and baited boxes. If a box is full, it will be removed, and the room will be logged in the exterminator book for another treatment. The audit will be completed weekly for 4 weeks, then monthly for 2 months. The Director of Maintenance will complete a weekly audit on a different day from the Housekeeping Director for baited boxes. If a box is full, it will be removed, and the room will be logged in the exterminator book for another treatment. The audit will be completed weekly for 4 weeks, then monthly for 3 months. Reports of audits will be presented at Monthly QAPI until substantial compliance is achieved.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
Pest control bait stations were not consistently monitored or serviced, and several resident rooms had clutter, food, or signs of rodent activity. A resident with schizophrenia and depression had food debris under the bed and a room that was not checked for months, while another resident reported mouse droppings and mice in the room. The maintenance director said there was no master list of bait stations, and the pest control company filled them only when management requested it.
The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program when multiple live roaches, roach feces, and dead roach carcasses were observed in a room shared by two residents, including on and under a personal refrigerator and beneath items placed on top of it. Housekeeping, maintenance, and a CNA each reported seeing roaches in the room on the prior day, and subsequent observations by maintenance and the administrator confirmed ongoing roach activity in the same area.
The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program when multiple live and trapped roaches and spiders were observed in the rooms of two cognitively intact residents. One resident, admitted for surgical aftercare, had live and trapped pests in her room and reported that bugs were found there often, expressing that she felt hurt and uncomfortable. Another resident with essential HTN reported a roach crawling onto her foot while she was in bed and stated she felt uncomfortable. An activities assistant confirmed the observed pests, an LN verified pest presence via photographs and described the situation as unsanitary with potential for allergic reactions, and the DON stated that rooms were expected to be clean and free of pests despite a written pest control P&P intended to keep the building free of insects and rodents.
Ineffective Pest Control Program in Kitchen: A roach was observed crawling on the kitchen wall behind the handwashing station during the lunch meal. Staff reported roaches had been seen on and off near sink areas, and pest sighting logs documented multiple roach sightings. The pest control company provided monthly service, and the DON/maintenance leadership acknowledged the ongoing kitchen pest issue and that monthly treatment was thought to be working.
The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program, as multiple cognitively intact residents reported large flying roaches in their rooms, bathrooms, and shower areas, and a visitor also reported seeing roaches. Surveyors directly observed roaches on a bathroom floor in one resident’s room, along with standing water and roach bait houses, after the resident had previously complained to housekeeping about room cleanliness and roaches. Two residents in another room reported wasp nests by their window for several weeks, and surveyors confirmed two nests and a gap between the screen and window that allowed insect entry. Leadership was informed of an additional gap at a hallway-to-courtyard threshold that could admit insects, and it was determined that pest control services had lapsed for two months due to unpaid invoices, while pest control logs had been destroyed and left blank, omitting documentation of roach sightings and the wasp nests.
The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program, resulting in an ongoing roach infestation documented over several months. The contracted pest control provider serviced the building only once per month and reported continued evidence of roaches, while indicating that more frequent applications were needed. The Administrator acknowledged persistent roach problems throughout the facility, and several CNAs reported seeing roaches, with some noting that sightings were not consistently documented and one CNA unaware of the pest control log. This lack of consistent reporting and insufficient pest control measures placed residents at risk for exposure to household pests and increased health risks.
Pest Control Program Not Maintained
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure bait stations were monitored and serviced to prevent or reduce pest problems for residents reviewed for environment. The report identified that the pest control company came monthly and would fill bait stations in resident rooms only when management told them to do so, and the maintenance director stated there was not a master list of which rooms had bait stations. The maintenance director also verified that during 4/2026 none of the bait stations in any rooms were serviced. For one resident with schizophrenia, depression, and moderate cognitive intactness, the infection preventionist stated the resident was trying to feed the mice. During an observation, a large amount of black crumbs that looked like chocolate cake and two patties of what looked like white meat were found under the bed. The room service summary showed the room was not checked in 4/2026, 3/2026, 1/2026, 12/2025, or 11/2025, and was checked in 2/2026 with light rodent activity noted. The maintenance director stated housekeeping was supposed to clean the room after breakfast and lunch. Other residents reviewed had cluttered rooms and food or belongings that could contribute to pest concerns. One resident with delusional disorder reported mouse droppings on the bed, mice in the room, and that the roommate hoarded food; the maintenance director stated he had seen mouse droppings in that room, but the service summary showed no rodent bait stations in the room. Another resident with paranoid schizophrenia had several plastic bags on the floor with uncovered pie on a plate, and the service summary showed no bait stations in the room. Additional residents with psychiatric diagnoses had overflowing bins, crowded rooms, or food brought to rooms, and the owner stated uncovered pie in a resident room was not okay because of pest control concerns. The DON stated cluttered rooms could attract bugs and lead to pest problems.
Failure to Maintain Effective Pest Control in Resident Room
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program to ensure the environment was free of pests and insects, affecting a room shared by Resident #1 and Resident #3 and having the potential to affect 89 residents in the facility. On 04/30/2026 at 8:30 a.m., during an observation with the housekeeping staff member (S3Housekeeping) in this room, a live roach was seen crawling on the wall, on top of Resident #1’s personal refrigerator, and underneath the desk-style phone on top of the refrigerator. S3Housekeeping stated she had seen one roach in the same room the previous day. Around 8:40 a.m., the maintenance staff member (S2Maintenance) reported that a CNA (S4Certified Nurse Aide) had informed him the previous afternoon about a roach on the wall in that room. At 8:45 a.m., further observation of the same room with S2Maintenance revealed roach feces and dead roach carcasses on top of Resident #1’s refrigerator, and when S2Maintenance lifted the phone and a book from the top of the refrigerator, live roaches ran out from underneath. At 8:53 a.m., the CNA (S4Certified Nurse Aide) confirmed she had noticed a roach in the room the day before. Later, at 12:45 a.m., the administrator (S1Administrator) reported that when he accompanied maintenance to the room and the refrigerator was lifted, a couple of live roaches ran out from underneath it. In a subsequent interview at 4:30 p.m., S1Administrator confirmed there were live roaches in the room of Resident #1 and Resident #3 and acknowledged they should not have been present.
Failure to Maintain Effective Pest Control in Resident Rooms
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program as evidenced by the presence of multiple live and trapped pests in the rooms of two cognitively intact residents. Resident 1, admitted with a diagnosis including encounter for surgical aftercare and assessed as cognitively intact on an MDS dated 2/5/26, was observed in her room where a live roach was seen on the floor and a live brown spider approximately one inch in length was seen on the sliding door. Additional pests were observed on traps in the same room: two roaches on a trap under the bed, and two one‑inch black spiders and a roach on a trap under a wooden cabinet by the sliding door. During this observation and interview, Resident 1 became angry and stated she felt hurt and uncomfortable having to sleep with pests in her room, and reported that the facility was not clean and that bugs were found in her room often. An Activities Assistant, present during the observation, confirmed the presence of the live spider, the live roach on the floor, and the trapped roaches and spiders in Resident 1’s room. Resident 2, admitted with a diagnosis of essential hypertension and assessed as cognitively intact on an MDS, reported during an interview in her room that a roach had crawled onto her foot while she was in bed and then crawled away in the room on a recent Saturday. Resident 2 stated she felt uncomfortable in the facility. A Licensed Nurse later confirmed the presence of pests in Resident 1’s room via photographic record review and stated that the presence of pests is unsanitary and that a resident could get an allergic reaction from a bug bite if spiders are present, and that pests can make a resident feel uncomfortable with care. The DON stated the expectation is for residents’ rooms to be clean and free of pests. A review of the facility’s pest control policy indicated the facility maintains an ongoing pest control program to ensure the building is kept free of insects and rodents, which was not achieved based on the observed and reported pest activity in resident rooms.
Ineffective Pest Control Program in Kitchen
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program to keep the kitchen free of roaches. During an observation on 4/28/2026 at 11:03 am, a roach was seen crawling on the kitchen wall behind the handwashing station during the lunch meal. A Dietary Aide stated she had not recently seen roaches in the kitchen, but in the past she reported them to the administrator, and said roaches can spread disease and are unsanitary. During interviews, staff reported that roaches had been seen on and off in the kitchen, usually near sink areas, and that they were killed and reported to the dietary manager. The pest control company service manager said the facility received monthly service and that common areas including the kitchen were treated, with staff using a log for pest sightings; he said extra visits were not made unless there were multiple sightings or an infestation. The Maintenance Supervisor and Administrator both acknowledged the pest control program, stated they were aware of roaches in the kitchen on and off, and noted that monthly treatment was thought to be working. Record review showed pest sightings documented on 1/08/2026, 2/10/2026, 4/01/2026, 4/20/2026, and 4/24/2026, along with monthly pest control invoices and a facility policy requiring an effective pest control program.
Failure to Maintain Effective Pest Control and Document Pest Activity
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to maintain an effective pest control program to prevent and address roaches and other pests, resulting in multiple resident complaints and direct observations of pests by surveyors. During a Resident Council meeting with the President and four other regular attendees, all participants agreed the facility was not a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment. Several cognitively intact residents, as evidenced by Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS) scores of 14–15, reported seeing large flying roaches throughout the facility, including in their rooms and shower areas, and described the shower room as unclean. One resident stated roaches crawled on ceilings and walls and made it difficult to sleep and reported not seeing pest control treat their room. Another resident, who had a BIMS score of 0 but was described by staff and through interviews as alert and oriented times four, reported that flying roaches were present during the day and night and that the problem had worsened since construction began. A visitor in the dining room also reported seeing roaches in the building and expressed concern that the older section of the facility needed attention. In one resident’s room and bathroom, surveyors directly observed four roaches on the bathroom floor (two dead and two alive on their backs), and the Maintenance Director did not remove them during the observation. The same room contained two roach bait houses and a plastic container under the toilet’s on/off valve that had collected standing water, which the Maintenance Director acknowledged was related to a flooding bathroom and likely attracted roaches. The resident reported having told housekeeping about how dirty the room was and that roaches crawled and flew around the room and bathroom; when the surveyor and housekeeper re-entered the bathroom later, roaches were again observed and then removed by the housekeeper. Additional pest-related issues were identified on another unit, where two residents in a shared room reported the presence of wasp nests by the window and stated the nests had been there for about three weeks and that staff were aware. Visual inspection revealed two wasp nests between the screen and glass, one with multiple round, greyish-white egg-like sacs and a live wasp on an empty cell, and a second smaller nest, along with a quarter-inch gap between the outside screen and the window that allowed outside air to be felt and contained what appeared to be a dead wasp. During the end-of-day debriefing, facility leadership was informed that a gap at the threshold from the hallway door to the courtyard could be a point of entry for insects and roaches. It was also noted that contracted pest control services were not completed for two months due to a lapse in vendor payment processing, and that the Maintenance Director had destroyed pest control logs across all units, leaving them blank and failing to document the roach sightings and the wasp nests reported by residents and observed by surveyors.
Failure to Maintain Effective Pest Control for Ongoing Roach Infestation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain an effective pest control program, as evidenced by ongoing roach activity documented over several months and corroborated by staff and the contracted pest control provider. On 4/22/26, the contracted pest control technician (Witness 9) was observed placing roach traps and reported that, per contract, he only serviced the facility once per month. He stated he had seen evidence of roaches for months, though not rodents, and indicated that the facility really needed pest control services twice per month to eradicate the roaches. Review of the Pest Control Log on 4/22/26 showed roach sightings reported from 10/2025 through 4/2026. The Administrator (Staff 1) acknowledged ongoing roach concerns throughout the facility and stated he had asked the pest control provider during past and recent monthly visits for more frequent service to control pests, especially roaches. Multiple CNAs (Staff 43, Staff 44, and Staff 27) reported seeing roaches in the facility, with Staff 43 and Staff 44 stating that sightings were not always written or reported in the Pest Control Log, and Staff 27 stating she was unaware of the Pest Control Log for reporting pest sightings. On 4/27/26, the Administrator confirmed the ongoing roach issue and stated he expected the facility to be pest free. This deficiency placed residents at risk for exposure to household pests and increased health risks, as the facility did not ensure that pest sightings were consistently documented or that pest control services were provided at a frequency sufficient to address the persistent roach problem.
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