(Host) Fletcher Allen Health Care has been unscathed, so far, by the resurgence of bedbugs that’s been sweeping the country. But the Burlington hospital isn’t taking any chances.
Workers have been trained in prevention and detection, and now the hospital is telling those who visit or are admitted to leave their blankets, luggage and bags at home. In addition, patients are being asked if they’ve been exposed to bedbugs and if they have, their belongings are being decontaminated.
Common bedbug habitats – mattress seams, drawers, closets, wall hangings – are being inspected, and bedbug traps are being placed in vacant patient rooms.
The vice president for hospital services says Fletcher Allen is enhancing its prevention measures, but that no bedbugs have been found in any of the inpatient units.