State health-care regulators have fined a South Florida assisted living facility $1,000 for a bedbug infestation, according to state documents.
Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Justin Senior issued a final order this week against Lake Erswin LLC, which operates as South Hialeah Manor, after agency inspectors reviewed the records of eight patients and found that three of them were affected by bedbugs.
Moreover, the facility failed to ensure that one of the three patients received treatment for bedbug bites. Attempts on Wednesday to contact South Hialeah Manor administrator Claudia Pace were unsuccessful.
Bedbugs are parasitic insects that feed on blood. According to the documents, AHCA investigated the facility on May 23 and saw “what appeared to be bedbugs crawling on the walls” in one of the facility’s rooms.
The Florida Department of Health also inspected the facility and found bedbugs in 12 rooms. The Department of Health said during its inspection that the facility needed a new pest-control company “because the current company’s visits were infrequent and its fumigation process did not appear to be effective.”
Residents of Florida assisted living facilities and nursing homes have legal rights guaranteeing that the facilities where they live must be safe and decent living environments free of abuse.
The “Resident Bill of Rights” also guarantees that residents be given access to health care consistent with established and recognized community standards.