Dead Rat Remained in Clinic After 2020 Inspection

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities wage a constant battle against pests of all kinds, so the challenge for managers is to develop and implement a tailored pest management program for their facilities. Still, problems related to infestations will continue to test the best plans, as one health clinic found out recently. 

A dead rat found in December 2020 inspection of a city-run health clinic in Baltimore remained undisturbed and mummified in a follow-up site visit 18 months later, Baltimore’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) said recently. 

Many of the same sanitary and maintenance problems – dead rodents in the basement, falling tiles in the ceiling, and water leaks and broken toilet pipes – discovered initially were uncorrected at the Druid Health District Building this summer, according to the report. 

Staff visited the clinic on July 14, 2022, in response to an anonymous complaint and a June inspection by the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) that found the lack of ready access to safety needles, and sharps disposal containers not properly mounted to the wall. 

“The OIG’s observations of rodents, pests, security and other general maintenance [issues] during the July 2022 site visit support that there are still concerns regarding the Baltimore City Health Department’s compliance with OSHA regulations and employee health and safety requirements per the city’s MOU with labor unions,” according to the report.