Assisted living facility fined $15,000 after 'plague' of bed bugs

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Midtown Manor, a 105-bed assisted living facility near downtown Hollywood, has been fined $15,000 after battling a severe bed bug infestation.

A pest control company found 4,000 bed bugs in 20 rooms on May 2016, state records show. The problem has since been remedied.

“I’ve never seen that severity of a bed bug problem,” said Brian Lee, a former eldercare ombudsman for the state. “You literally have a plague of bed bugs. That was deeply disturbing.”

Officials with Midtown Manor could not be reached for comment..

Bed bugs, small insects that live on the blood of animals or people, like to hide in mattresses, box springs and bed frames and then come out at night to feed. Their bites can turn into itchy welts and females can lay hundreds of eggs over a lifetime.

The assisted living facility, at 2001 Polk St., will be allowed to remain open but must hire a consultant to provide oversight every three months.

State officials are also requiring the resignation of Roni Herskovitz, one of the owners.

Coolidge Palms, an assisted living facility in Hollywood with the same owners, was forced to close in April 2016. A state investigation found an aide had hit an 80-year-old woman in the head several times with a water pitcher, drawing blood and forcing a visit to the hospital for stitches.

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Assisted living facility fined $15,000 after 'plague' of bed bugs