The presence of rats was a fact of life when Sonoma County health officials were called to inspect the kitchen of a skilled nursing home in Petaluma.
An April 3 food facility inspection report found rodent feces on food and equipment throughout the kitchen at the 98-bed North Bay Post Acute.
Chew marks were found on numerous bags containing dried pasta, muffin mix, cereal and cases of bananas.
An April 3 county inspection report states that “yellow liquid stains were observed on dry goods and single service items, which may be rodent urine.” .
North Bay Post Acute Phase Inspection Report April 3, 2024.pdf
That same day, the county ordered the kitchen closed, said Sonoma County Environmental Health Director Christine Sosko.
Sosko said it's unusual for a skilled nursing home to close like this.
Of the 84 food establishments closed over the past four years due to rodents, the only one involving a skilled nursing home kitchen was shut down last week, according to county inspection records.
Sosko said patients' meals are being brought in from nearby nursing homes because North Bay Post Acute's kitchen is closed.
Meanwhile, Sosko said North Bay is cleaning and disinfecting kitchens and repairing gaps and openings where rodents may have entered from outside.
Facility owner Brian Tanner said in an email that he is working closely with state and county health officials to resolve the identified issues. Tanner lists a Chino Hills address in county records but did not respond to a request for a phone interview.
“Our top priority has been, and always will be, the safety of our patients and staff,” Tanner said in an email to the Press-Democrat on Thursday. “Recent evidence of the presence of pests in small areas within the facility has not caused any adverse health effects to anyone.”
But those guarantees matter little to Krista Barnett Nelson, executive director of Senior Advocacy Services and Sonoma County's local long-term care ombudsman.
Barnett Nelson said she had never encountered such a situation in her 12 years in the ombudsman role.
“This is a gross violation of the trust placed in this health care provider who cares for some of the most medically fragile people in our society,” Barnett Nelson said in an email.
According to Nelson's latest census, there are 84 residents in the house. It is overseen by the California Department of Public Health, which regulates skilled nursing homes in the state.
The nursing home, formerly known as Empress Post Acute Rehabilitation, has been licensed as a skilled nursing facility since 1969, according to the California Department of Health and Human Services.
It was previously owned by Evergreen Healthcare, according to county records. It is unclear when Tanner took ownership of the facility, but a retail food facility permit issued to him by the county health department last June lists an ownership change date of January 1, 2021. Are listed.
A review of past county environmental health inspection reports conducted at the site did not indicate any other findings of rodent infestation within the building.
However, an inspection report issued on October 26, 2021 found traces of rodents outside the building. The facility was then called Empress and owned by Evergreen Healthcare, the report said.
Under “observations,” the report noted that “dead rats and old feces were found among cleaning supplies discarded outside.” There is no food storage or supplies in the hut. ”
“Per operator, the facility receives monthly pest control. Bait boxes and traps were on site and empty,” the 2021 report states. “There are no signs of pests in other areas of the kitchen.”
County health officials have been inspecting the facility daily since the kitchen was closed on April 3. Officials with the California Department of Public Health also conduct frequent testing, the agency said.
On the same day the county shut down the nursing home's kitchen, health inspectors found gaps and openings in the wall below the dishwashing area. Under the back screen door. In the cabinet around the plumbing under the hand wash sink in the dining room. In the cabinet under the hand wash sink in the employee break room. And under the dining room door.
The April 3 report also noted severe water damage, with warped tiles and holes and cracks.
Thursday's inspection report states North Bay Post Acute hired YAY Construction to repair the kitchen, with a tentative completion date listed as Saturday.
Thursday's inspection report said the walls and floors around the large cookware and under the two-room sink were repaved. Officials say they also have a contract with a pest control company.
