Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1513231.015 - Ca Corrections & Rehabilitation - Mule Creek State Prison

Inspection Information - Office: Modesto District Office

Investigation Summary

An employee had worked as a Laboratory Assistant for a State Prison. The facility has a medical unit that treats COVID-19 cases onsite. Medical Technologists perform phlebotomy on patients and return collected blood samples to the lab for processing. The collection room is a small area with centrifuges and no special air handling installed. The manager of the area described the room as a blood draw station with specimen processing. In the fall, there was an outbreak among both the prisoner population and Correctional Officers. The Lab Assistants assisted Medical Technologists in collecting specimens in housing and preparing them for shipment to an off-site laboratory. Personnel wore N95 respirators when assisting in housing and at all other times they wore surgical face masks. The lab room had too many occupants to achieve social distancing and there were no barriers. The room was also recently used for training which caused crowding. Management reported 40 staff and approximately 50 prisoners had tested positive for COVID-19. The employee was likely exposed to both COVID-19 positive coworkers and prisoners during the outbreak while wearing an N95 respirator for which he did not get fit tested. The employee had family who became ill after he became ill and not prior. He had few activities outside of going to work and returning home. He began to experience symptoms on November 18, 2020, which included a runny nose, chills, sore throat & headache. The employee was tested on November 18, 2020 and received a positive test result on November 21, 2020. The employee identified 10 coworkers he believed he could have contracted the virus from, including one that worked as a Custody Officer. The employee was hospitalized on November 27, 2020 and died at 8:00 a.m. on December 14, 2020. The employer did not have Adequate Aerosol Transmissible Diseases policies and procedures in place.

Keywords: Infectious Disease