DULUTH, Ga. — Residents' loved ones want to know why a senior living facility in Duluth received a poor score on its recent Food Service Establishment Inspection Report.
Parc at Duluth received a 25/100 on the report, the facility told residents.
"I was in shock," said a resident's loved one, who didn't want to be identified. "I was worried for the well-being of not just loved ones, but other residents as well. Many of them are immunocompromised, higher in age, more susceptible to diseases. So it was a huge concern for their health."
The relative told 11Alive's Molly Oak the facility sent residents a letter earlier this week, alerting them of the low score.
The letter called the score "unacceptable." It said, in part: "While there is no excuse for such a score, the timing of this inspection, on the heels of two leadership team member departures, was unfortunate." The letter also added a commercial kitchen cleaning team was coming to deep clean the entire kitchen, including the equipment.
"I think it needs to be more than just on the piece of paper that they're working on it," said the relative. "I think that a score that low put people's lives in danger, literally. I believe that the company needs to be held responsible and held accountable to truly make sure that this is taken care of."
The inspection pointed out "more than nine critical violations" in the "U" score.
Dr. Audrey Arona, the CEO and District Medical Director at GNR Public Health, sent 11Alive an email with more details about the report and the inspection process. Arona said the score signifies there were major violations of Georgia's Food Service Rules, adding scores that low are "extremely uncommon." Read her full statement at the bottom of this story.
She added this was a routine inspection that turned educational.
"(It) provided an opportunity to provide specific operational education geared toward overall food safety," Arona said.
Executive Vice President of Parc Communities Woody DeWeese said the company was "both surprised and disappointed" at the recent health inspection score. A majority of violations were able to be addressed in real-time, according to DeWeese, adding that at this point everything has been corrected, and the facility is waiting on a follow-up inspection.
"I hope that they really, truly take care of the residents there. Some of them don't have families that are nearby. So, I guess I'm hoping that this will help bring light to a pretty serious situation and that it's not something that's swept under the rug," said the relative. "And that they can be held accountable for their negligence and make things whole for everybody there and make things, most importantly, safe."
The relative said he also thought the residents should be reimbursed since a portion of their rent pays for the services.
In addition to his statement, DeWeese added:
The health department did not limit or curtail our food service operations, and residents enjoyed regular meal service without interruption. Because we were able to maintain regular dining service operations, we do not anticipate a need for any offset of monthly service fees.
DeWeese's full statement can be found at the bottom of this story.
Dr. Audrey Arona, CEO & District Medical Director at GNR Public Health statement:
The low score earned by this facility means there were significant violations of Georgia’s Food Service Rules observed during this inspection. Critical violations are at the top of the inspection report and are based on higher-risk categories per the FDA model food code. Usually 3-4% of our restaurant inspections earn a U which is 69% or below. Very low numbers are extremely uncommon.
On the day of the inspection, the Environmental Health team spent hours with the facility on-site, guiding them to correct the critical violations and provided additional on-site food safety training to ensure compliance moving forward. Earlier this week the team revisited the facility to help them better understand the requirements, answer any questions and help them be better prepared for their next inspection which will occur within 10 days of the inspection that resulted in the U.
Woody DeWeese, the Executive Vice President of Parc Communities statement:
We take great pride in providing an exceptional dining experience at Parc at Duluth and were both surprised and disappointed at the recent health inspection score we received. Most of the items identified during the inspection were easily corrected and addressed real time, while health department inspectors were onsite. We also proactively developed a comprehensive plan of correction and have been working closely with the health department since their visit. At this time, all issues have been corrected and we are eagerly awaiting the health department’s return and follow-up inspection.