LMH bed bugs eliminated

After bed bugs were found at Lenoir Memorial Hospital Wednesday, it didn’t take long before the hospital was free of the pests.

The hospital staff was notified of the problem on Wednesday and steps were immediately taken to both eliminate the bugs and keep them from spreading, LMH spokesperson Barbara LaRoque said.

“Exterminators were called, the place was cleaned, and the health department was in for a house-wide inspection,” LaRoque said. “The health department gave us a 97 rating and no bed bugs were found in the hospital.”

LaRoque said that in addition to the inspections and extermination efforts, the affected room itself was cleaned and treated and the furniture in the room was thrown away.

Bed bugs were discovered in a waiting area outside of an intensive care unit, where people often bring their own bedding for overnight stays, LaRoque said.

“Based on what we know about the transmission of bed bugs, they were probably brought in on linen or bedding that was brought in by a visitor,” LaRoque said. “There were no bed bugs found in patient areas.”

To prevent further bed bug infestations, Lenoir Memorial Hospital immediately implemented a policy where no outside bedding will be allowed in the hospital.

“We have a new policy where we are not allowing bedding of any kind to be brought into the hospital,” LaRoque said. “If people need some type of blanket or bedding for the wait rooms, they will be offered something from the hospital.”

The new policy includes — but is not limited to — sheets, pillows, blankets and sleeping bags.

The health inspection, along with extermination efforts by Wheeler Exterminating, should ensure there are no more bed bugs in the hospital, according to Wheeler vice president Preston Brown.

“We did a very thorough inspection of all of the waiting areas throughout the hospital, and we found a very small isolated area of bed bugs in one room,” Brown said. “We did a crack and crevice treatment, and when we inspected the area yesterday and today we found that everything was clean and there was no more infestation.”

Typically, bed bugs are unknowingly transported by people to new locations, Brown said.

“You have got to understand that bed bugs are parasites and they are heavily transported on peoples clothing and bedding,” Brown said. “The bed bugs I killed are not coming back; now, can they be brought back in? Absolutely, but the hospital has taken steps to make that more difficult.”

Brown said bed bugs rarely move to other areas once they are settled, and this is the first incident of bed bugs the hospital has had since Wheeler Exterminating has been working with the hospital even before it opened. 

“As soon as it was reported, we were there within 20 minutes, and I want folks not to worry about anything at the hospital, because we have taken care of it,” Brown said. “They can be controlled, and we are doing that.”

Joel Gerber can be reached at 252-559-1076 or jgerber@freedomenc.com.