Nationally ranked hospital deals with roach infestation

SAN DIEGO — When a food inspector found “a few live cockroaches” in the production kitchen at UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest a year ago, it was chalked up as a moderate vermin violation. The hospital was ordered to get rid of the insects, but was still given an “A” rating, which generally indicates a satisfactory level of safety and cleanliness.

An inspection less than two months later found no cockroaches, but fast-forward three more months, and a roach infestation was so extensive the inspection was cut short so management could start dealing with the vermin.

inewsource uncovered the situation at the UCSD hospital during a review of public health inspections conducted on university properties, including UCSD, San Diego State and Cal State San Marcos. Health and public safety is not enforced by the county in these eateries and kitchens. An inspection system is run by the individual universities themselves.

The Hillcrest medical center is a nationally-ranked teaching hospital and part of the UCSD Health System. Officials at UCSD declined requests for an interview.

Jacqueline Carr, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said in an email the production kitchen is where food is cooked for patients and employees. Some of that food is served in the adjacent cafeteria, where staff and visitors eat. The cafeteria is inspected separately.

Carr wrote that management dealt with the August cockroach infestation inspection “promptly.”

“The staff in Hillcrest fully cooperated with the inspector and jointly developed a corrective action plan,” she said in her email. “The response included bringing in a specialized pest control company the same day to treat the kitchen.”

Carr said the kitchen was under renovation and there were small holes in the exterior walls, suggesting that’s how the cockroaches got into the kitchen. The inspection report found parts of the wall “torn and damaged.”

“The holes have since been closed and sealed,” Carr said.

In the latest inspection on file of the production kitchen from March 6, no vermin issues were noted. The kitchen received a score of 94, enough for an “A” rating. During the entire series of inspections, the kitchen was never closed down.

Bacteria and allergens

Cockroaches carry viruses and bacteria. The inspection report said they can contaminate food “they walk on and the surfaces they contact.

Jesse Alvarez, a supervisor at Colonial Pest Management, has experience exterminating all kinds of vermin, including roaches at commercial and residential properties. He didn’t comment on the UCSD case, but was asked to explain how a few cockroaches turn into an infestation in a matter of months.

Usually restaurant and home infestations are a species called German cockroaches, he said.

“They multiply really, really fast,” he said. “Each egg carries 30 to 60 babies in it.”

Cockroaches, Alvarez said, have had the opportunity “since the beginning of time to hang out with us and learn how to deal with us.”

Alvarez said cockroaches can carry bacteria such as e-coli and salmonella. They can also leave a distinctive smell “like body odor and mold and humidity” because of the feces and skin left behind from molting. Those droppings contain allergens that can trigger asthma attacks and allergic reactions.

The production kitchen at UCSD was inspected by Jeff Eisert, an environmental health and safety specialist at UCSD in March 12, 2014, again on May 1 and then on Aug. 26, when he found the infestation.

Eisert noted “multi-staged cockroaches” in the “food production line, in the cooking equipment at the cooking line, along the walls of the cook’s line and in the side production areas of the main kitchen.” The report directed the kitchen to “take all measures necessary to eradicate this infestation.”

The cockroaches were marked as a major violation. However, the facility did not receive a final grade because Eisert stopped the inspection until the cockroach infestation was resolved.