San Diego County health inspectors found multiple health violations during a routine inspection of the kitchen at San Diego Post Acute Center in El Cajon on May 14. The inspector required the facility to shut down its kitchen temporarily to address the problems, including surfaces where food is prepared that had not been properly sanitized, improper food storage and a vermin infestation.
A vermin infestation typically means cockroaches and rodents, said Ryan Johnson who oversees the County of San Diego’s Department of Environmental Health and Quality.
“There's a wide range of evidence that we would look at that shows a vermin infestation. So droppings, chew marks on food, rub marks on the walls, actual live bodies in the facility,” he said.
These are considered major violations because they carry a higher risk of cross-contamination and foodborne illness, Johnson said.
“Anytime that we observe evidence of vermin, it's an imminent health hazard,” he said.
The facility offers hospice care, short-term rehabilitation, memory care and other services.
Residents in rehab or skilled nursing facilities are especially vulnerable to foodborne illnesses, said Dr. Ian Neel, a geriatric care specialist at UC San Diego.
“It's what we call an opportunistic infection,” he said. “If our body is busy fighting off another infection, or if it is recovering from serious illness, then our immune system is busy elsewhere and less on the alert and so we are at higher risk.”
In the past five years, eight licensed health care facilities have been shut down for vermin, Johnson said.
San Diego Post Acute Center was allowed to reopen the following day after another inspection, he said.
“We'll check to again see, did they do all of the work that we asked them to? And if there's no vermin activity, they've had the pest control. They've done all their cleaning. Then we'll approve them to reopen,” Johnson said.
While facilities like San Diego Post Acute must notify the state health department of closures, they’re not required to publicly announce temporary shutdowns. County health officials typically post closure signs onsite and inspection records are available at www.sdfoodinfo.com.
County officials said follow-up inspections will continue over the coming months to ensure long-term compliance. A facility spokesperson said the kitchen was allowed to reopen within 12 hours and no residents were harmed or affected by the temporary closure. They declined to answer additional questions.
