A Barrie hotel, a Simcoe County retirement home, a Muskoka tourist destination and a Penetanguishene group home were all issued health risk orders earlier this month after routine inspections by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit found they were violating several health and safety requirements.

Jennings Lodge, a group home in Penetanguishene, was ordered to close its doors following a routine inspection on Dec. 10, which determined the facility failed to ensure the premises were “operated and kept free from conditions that could constitute an immediate risk to health.”

The inspector noted four non-critical violations and two critical violations. They included:

• not maintain the premises free from conditions which may constitute a health hazard, impair the sanitary operation of the premises or impair the safety of food;
• unmaintained food premises with clean floors and/or in good condition;
• failing to maintain and organize equipment in a clean and hygienic condition;

• failing to ensure that the room is free of materials/equipment not used regularly;
• failing to maintain the premises in a clean and hygienic manner;
• fail to protect against pest entry, harborage and reproduction;
• failing to ensure that racks, shelves or pallets are clean and designed to protect against contamination

According to the online report, an acceptable temporary measure was put in place and education was provided.

Windermere House on Lake Rosseau was ordered to close its spa after a routine inspection on November 28 determined a total of four violations, including:

• failure to ensure that total alkalinity is maintained within a range of 80 ppm to 120 ppm;
• failure to ensure that the pH value of water is maintained between 7.2 and 7.8;
• and failure to ensure available free chlorine residual is maintained between 5 ppm and 10 ppm.

According to the online report, all three of these issues were corrected during the inspection.

The inspection also revealed that care had not been taken to ensure that no cyanurate stabilization was used for the spa facility. According to the online report, a health hazard order was served, education was provided and the premises was ordered to close.

A follow-up the next day revealed that three of the violations had not yet been corrected, but one of the issues was corrected during the inspection. The inspector cited the failure to ensure that the free available chlorine residual was maintained between 5 ppm and 10 ppm and the failure to operate and maintain the premises free from conditions that could constitute an immediate danger to health and a issued a health hazard order, ordering the facility to close immediately. .

A subsequent follow-up inspection on December 6 found no new or existing violations and the health hazard order was rescinded, allowing the spa to reopen to the public.

Bayview Nursing Home in Waubaushene was issued a health risk order after a routine inspection on November 14.

According to the online report, the inspector cited several violations, including:

• failure to guarantee that the premises are not maintained with clean floors and/or in good condition;
• failure to ensure that items and all food contact surfaces are properly constructed and maintained;
• failure to ensure that food premises are maintained with clean floors and/or in good condition;
• failure to ensure that food premises are maintained with clean walls and/or in good repair;
• failure to ensure that food premises are maintained with a waterproof, smooth or non-absorbent floor surface;
• failure to maintain equipment, utensils and/or multi-use items in good condition and/or safety equipment;
• failure to ensure that the room is free of materials/equipment not regularly used;
• failure to maintain the premises in a clean and hygienic manner;
• failing to provide adequate lighting for food preparation and cleaning;
• fail to protect against pest entry, harborage and reproduction;
• failing to clean and disinfect food contact surfaces or equipment after each use and as often as necessary (corrected during inspection);
• failing to cover food and failing to protect food from contamination and/or adulteration (corrected during inspection);
• failing to ensure that racks, shelves or pallets are clean and designed to protect against contamination;
• not ensuring the presence of a food handler or supervisor during all opening hours;
• failing to ensure that the food handler washes their hands when necessary;

Education was provided and training was recommended.

A health inspector conducted two follow-up visits, the first on November 29, which revealed that the establishment still had five non-critical violations and two critical violations, during which a health hazard order was served and additional training was provided.

A subsequent follow-up visit to the facility on Dec. 5 determined the same violations were still ongoing, according to the report and the inspector ensured an “acceptable temporary measure” was in place, and the Department of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills The development has been notified. Education was provided, training was recommended and the health hazard ordinance was upheld.

The Fairfield Inn and Suites By Marriott in Barrie was ordered to close its pool earlier this month.

On December 3, a routine inspection of the Essa Road Hotel revealed a total of six violations, including:

• fails to ensure that the pH value of the water is maintained between 7.2 and 7.8;
• not manually checking and recording requirements at least every two hours during the daily use period;
• failing to keep a daily record of the estimated number of bathers and failing to keep a daily record of the make-up water meter reading;
• not adding the required amount of fresh water to the pool daily;
• fail to guarantee that all components of the swimming pool are maintained in good working order;
• and fails to ensure that the emergency telephone is operational.

A health hazard order was served and the facility was ordered to close the pool.

A follow-up inspection the next day found that all violations had been corrected and no further immediate action was required. The health hazard order was rescinded and the facility was allowed to reopen the pool to the public.

For more information on health unit inspections, Click here.