ASHLAND — Discount Drug Mart in Ashland reopened Friday following a two-day closure for what public health officials described as a “severe” rodent infestation.
Environmental health specialists from the Ashland County Health Department inspected the store on Thursday and confirmed the building has been properly cleaned and secured to deter future rodent infestation.
Also, the contaminated items have been disposed of and the remaining items were thoroughly disinfected, according to a press release issued by the agency Friday.
The health department received confirmation from a pest management company that the rodent situation was properly managed Friday morning, which prompted health department officials to reopen the store.
The store is open Friday until 10 p.m. It opens Saturday at 8 a.m.
The press release also notes that environmental health specialists examined Goodwill on Wednesday and saw no visible signs of rodent infestation.
The health department does not typically inspect Goodwill because it does not sell food products.
Store Supervisor Ron Wheeler said Ashland’s Discount Drug Mart has been part of the community for more than 30 years.
“We love our employees and our customers,” he said, adding the closure revealed areas of concern that the store has since addressed.
That included destroying products that were not in contaminated areas, he said.
Why now?
Ashland Source asked the health department why it condemned Discount Drug Mart on Tuesday when the department was aware of the situation since May 24.
Health department officials said in a statement via email that “a complaint investigation includes due process to allow management time to address the issues identified in the inspection report.”
Health department officials inspected the store again on July 9, which revealed a worsening situation described as “a smorgasbord for mice.”
By Sept. 9, when the health department performed another inspection, the infestation had gotten worse.
The Sept. 9 inspection included interviews with employees who reported feeling ill, which substantiated an imminent health hazard that warranted temporary closure, according to the statement.
At the time of the April and July inspections, Discount Drug Mart reported working with a pest control company.
Environmental health specialists were told at the Sept. 9 inspection that the contract with the pest control company had been terminated a week before, and a new company had been hired, but did not have control measures in place yet.