Pest Management Professional, September 2012
Bed Bug Supplement HealtH Care FaCilities Control with Care Infestations in health care facilities present PMPs with obstsacles and opportunities Rick Dana Contributor H ealth care facilities present challenging safety and maintenance issues because of the complex nature of their environments Managing the welfare of patients and senior center residents requires tending to an ever changing number of complications Often theres no second chance for getting it right when it comes to patients residents well being Bed bugs blood sucking parasites that survive by feeding on warm blooded hosts are a growing threat impacting health care facilities which are virtual petri dishes when it comes to bed bugs potential to foster infestations A prime target Offering bed bug management services to health care facilities present an opportunity for expanded market penetration for two key reasons 1 Facility management typically refuses to admit a problem exists and 2 Educating them about the reasons theyre likely targets might prompt them to take action A close look at the environment in a typical health care facility can provide valuable information about how to address management from an informed position Health care facilities are different from many other types of businesses For example hotel staffs tend to be more consistent their management teams tend to have more control over who works on their premises Alternately temporary assistance from other hospitals nurses from adult communities and law enforcement personnel can mean there frequently are a host of outsiders in hospitals and senior centers There also are emergency patients emergency medical technician EMT crews and visiting family members and friends all of whom are able to come and go at will Each case presents the opportunity for bed bugs to hitchhike aboard patients residents staff and visitors who might have been exposed to the parasites at other locations Bed bugs are skilled at attaching themselves to textured materials such as cloth theyre outfitted with Continued on page S9 Bed bugs can hitchhike to health care facilities and senior centers aboard patients residents staff emergency medical technician EMT crews and visitors S6 September 2012 Pest Management Professional www mypmp net
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