A jury recently awarded $2.5 million to the family of a 92-year-old woman who died after fire ants at her assisted living facility stung her repeatedly. The woman and her personal aide had reported the fire ants in her room to staff at the facility in 2018. Ants had been a problem at the facility for at least two months before the woman was stung repeatedly, but according to the woman’s son, the facility did not take adequate steps to get them under control.
The woman and her aide had first spotted the ants in the bathroom and closet. One week after they filed the report, the woman was found suffering from bites with ants on her body and in her bed. The facility then moved the woman from her bed, dusted it off, and removed her clothing from the ant-infested closet. The next day the woman was again found with ants on her body and pus-filled bites across her midsection and on other areas. Her son said she was in tremendous pain. She died days later. The family filed the lawsuit in 2019.
In an unrelated case a year later, a Vietnam War veteran was bitten more than 100 times by ants while he lay in his bed at a Veteran Affairs hospital. A staff member told his daughter that they had thought he was dead because when they went into his room, ants were all over him. After the incident, he was bathed and his room was cleaned, but the ants came back. He was moved to a new room but died shortly afterward.
And in North Carolina, a nursing home resident died after staff found her with fire ants covering her face and upper body. The facility was fined more than $530,000.
Issue:
F925 Effective Pest Control Program in the State Operations Manual Appendix PP states that facilities are to maintain an effective pest control program so that the facility is free of pests and rodents. An effective pest control program is defined as measures to eradicate and contain common household pests (e.g., bedbugs, lice, roaches, ants, mosquitoes, flies, mice, and rats). Providing a healthy environment for residents is a top priority, and preventing pests is a significant part of ensuring quality of care. Any sighting of a swarm of ants indoors, and particularly fire ants, is a warning that must be acted on immediately. Residents should be watched closely until the ants can be eliminated. A rash on a resident’s leg or arm could be a sign of fleas or bedbugs. Tiny dark spots on bed linens could be a sign of bedbugs. Gnaw marks on food packaging, pipes, and electrical cables could be a sign of mice or rats. Front-line employees are the first line of defense in maintaining a pest-free facility. These include housekeeping, maintenance, kitchen and dining staff, and direct care staff.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding the facility’s environmental infection control and pest control programs. Pest management is not a one-time event. There must be ongoing sanitation, pest monitoring, and prevention. Update your policies if needed to comply with F925 and the most current standards of practice.
- All staff should receive training on the importance of observing residents and immediately reporting any change in their condition or the presence of pests in any part of the facility. Those responsible for managing the pest control program should receive specific training for the types of issues likely to occur in the facility’s geographic area.
- Periodically audit to make sure regular visits from a pest control professional are occurring, and that the visits are documented along with any proposals for remediation. Include observation for indictors of the presence of pests in the activity of regularly conducting environmental rounds. Check to make sure the appropriate follow-up has been completed and documented for any findings.
