FRANK GLUCK

FGLUCK@NEWS-PRESS.COM

Update: Citrus Gardens, the Fort Myers nursing home recently placed on a special Medicare watch list, said Monday afternoon that its safety problems are in the past and have been fixed.

Administrator Mike Ward sent the News-Press the message in response to a story that ran this weekend about the facilities problems last year, including a rat problem in its kitchens. Citrus Gardens' officials had declined to comment last week.

Ward wrote:

"Citrus Gardens delivers excellent care to its residents through the tireless efforts of its dedicated staff. The facility did experience some challenges that were comprehensively addressed over a year ago. Citrus Gardens, under new leadership following the events cited in the article, willingly collaborated with regulatory officials to rectify all identified issues and implemented additional processes to further protect the welfare and safety of its residents.

These improvements were successful and ultimately resulted in a deficiency free federal survey in April of this year.

"Citrus Gardens rejects any suggestion that issues identified in prior years caused harm to its residents. Citrus Gardens and its staff remain dedicated to providing top quality compassionate care to all who it serves."

Read the full PDF of the letter below.

(Original publish date: Oct 18, 2014) A Fort Myers nursing home the state had fined $20,000 in May for safety violations that included large rats roaming its kitchens has been placed on a special Medicare watch list for problem facilities.

The 120-bed Citrus Gardens of Fort Myers, 7173 Cypress Drive SW, was one of two Florida nursing homes to be newly placed on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Special Focus Facility list.

Federal regulators created the list for facilities with "repeated cycles of serious deficiencies" that may indicate deeper systemic problems that need fixing. Inspectors visit such listed nursing homes twice as frequently as other homes, or about two times a year.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration cited Citrus Gardens for a number of problems, including its failure in 2013 to prevent contamination from rodents that had been infesting its kitchen. One on-site rat trap had caught one the size of a raccoon, a rat one staffer nicknamed the "granddaddy," the report states.

Staff members told inspectors in July 2013 that they had found rat droppings in the food storage area. Packaged food stored there had not been moved.

"During the interview, the Administrator did not demonstrate an understanding that if rodents are running around the dry storage area, then much of the food (even packaged) would be contaminated," the AHCA report states. "Nor, that cross contamination would then occur when food is taken into the clean area of the kitchen, where it would be opened and served to residents."

The state inspectors had asked an unnamed administrator why the nursing home had not found a new extermination service because employees continued to find rodents.

According to a state report, that administrator replied:

"There are rats in every restaurant and building. We live in Florida, and we should expect rodents and cockroaches in buildings and for every cockroach or rodent we find you expect us to shut down the kitchen."

Citrus Gardens declined several requests for interviews over the last week. A staffer answering the phone said its corporate representatives handle such media requests but refused to say who one of those people might be.

State records show the facility is owned by an entity called "SA-ENC Fort Myers," which is based in White Plains, N.Y. A call to a facility with the address listed on those state records went unanswered Friday.

Brian Lee, executive director of the nursing home consumer advocacy group Families for Better Care, called the nursing home's recent history and placement on the federal list "absolutely shameful."

"No residents should ever be subjected to a rat infestation, especially a swarm of this magnitude," he said. "This is catastrophic neglect that endangered the lives of every resident."

Citrus Gardens has a daily room rate of $205, a fairly standard amount for such facilities in this region. It accepts Medicaid, Medicare and other forms of insurance. According to state records it is nearly 80 percent occupied.

Historically, about half of nursing homes on the federal list improve significantly over the next two years, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. About 16 percent of them are terminated from the Medicare/Medicaid system, government figures show.

Connect with this reporter: @FrankGluck (Twitter)