Patients with Bed Bugs Policy

Policy Owner: Clinic Dean 

Policy Contact: Compliance Officer

POLICY STATEMENT

Persons who arrive at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry suspected to have bed bugs on their clothing, body, or other belongings will be managed so as to minimize exposure of providers, staff, and other patients and to prevent infestations of our clinics.

REASON FOR POLICY

We must prevent the transmission of bed bugs if they appear in our clinics. We must educate our students, staff, and faculty on how to respond if bed bugs are seen in our clinics. We must provide patients with support and guidance.

PROCEDURES

1. Manage the Patient

• Move the patient to a closeable room (exam room if available, designated room on floors with open clinics) and put the lobby chair used by the patient in this room.
• Ask the patient if they are aware of a bed bug problem at their residence. If they are not, provide them with information (see forms and appendices for further info).
• Ask the patient if you can inspect their belongings. Place personal belongings that may contain bugs (purses, backpacks, outer garments) in a clear plastic bag and secured with a gooseneck knot. Save a bug in a specimen container for identification if possible.
• Tell the patient to leave the clinic and not to reschedule appointments until their bed bug problem has been
• resolved.
• Document the incident in the patient’s chart and put a sticky note in axiUm to inform other clinic personnel of
• the situation.

2. Manage the Environment

• Call the compliance officer (Catherine Harding 612-626-7820) or Dental Engineering (Greg Johnson 612-626-0633), and they will call Facilities Management, who will call Plunkett’s Pest Control to schedule a service call.
• Close off the room where the patient was treated and put a sign on the door that says “STOP! DO NOT ENTER THIS ROOM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE! (See Forms section below.) (Because bed bugs do not fly and tend to hide in dark spaces, open cubicles can be treated as any other operatory space.)Place any disposables (gowns, gloves, bibs, etc) worn by patient or providers in a clear plastic bag secured with a gooseneck knot. Inspect the bag for bugs and dispose of it in the trash if there are no bugs detected.
• Place any non-disposable blankets, towels or drapes in a clear plastic bag secured with a gooseneck knot, inspect for bugs, and send it out to be laundered at high heat if no bugs are detected.
• Leave secured bags with bugs, any reception area chairs that the patient had used, and all instruments in the room until after the Plunkett’s service call. After inspecting yourself (see procedure 3), leave the room.
• After Plunkett’s Pest Control treats the room, remove the instruments and secured bags. Disinfect the room as usual and remove the sign from the door. (Plunkett’s treatment for our clinic will most likely be chemical treatment which is not the most effective treatment. Heat treatment is more effective but requires closing the clinic for four hours, and it will be difficult to maintain 140 degrees F in our clinic.)
• Plunkett’s will return in about a week to do a post-treatment inspection. The Compliance Officer will be present for all treatments and inspections.
• Treatment will be repeated if any bugs are detected during the inspection. Remember, bed bugs tend to hide in dark places and they feed primarily at night on sleeping people so they most likely will not be visible during the daytime in a room where you are working. Evidence of bed bugs include rusty stains where they have been crushed, dark spots about this big • which are their excrement, eggs, or live bugs.

3. Manage Students and Employees Who Came in Contact With the Patient

• Inspect your person for bugs. Pay attention to pants cuffs, hoods, pockets, and the tops of your shoes.
• Bed bugs do not like heat and are unlikely to be in your hair or on your skin.
• If there is a bug on your person, remove it and crush it. Bed bugs do not carry disease.
• Request a clean set of scrubs, remove your old scrubs and put them in a clear plastic bag secured with a gooseneck knot. The garments will be sent out for laundering at high heat with other non-disposable materials from the operatory.
• The option of on-site showering is available to all personnel if they want to shower on-site. You do not have to shower on site.
• Contact the Compliance Officer if you have any questions or concerns.

FORMS/INSTRUCTIONS

STOP! Bed Bug Poster (PDF)

Bed Bug Prevention, Detection and Control (EPA)

APPENDICES

Bed Bugs (CDC)

Bed Bugs (Minnesota Department of Health)

Bed Bugs | Get rid of them (EPA)

Bed Bugs in Healthcare Settings (Munoz-Price et al., 2012)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

There is no FAQ associated with this policy.

DEFINITIONS

There are no definitions associated with this policy. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

There are no responsibilities associated with this policy. 

RELATED INFORMATION

There is no related information with this policy. 

HISTORY

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS