Pest Control in Healthcare: Ensuring Patient Safety and Compliance

A hospital or urgent care center is expected to be clean, sterile, and free from problems like rodents or insects. To meet this expectation, healthcare facilities can work with pest control to make sure they’re safe from infestation.

In this blog on pest control’s role in healthcare, we’ll look at the following:

Balancing Patient Safety with Effective Pest Management

Medical facilities are always busy with a wide range of patients and staff moving around. This can make something like pest control sound like a safety hazard. In reality, neglecting pest control is much more of a risk than utilizing it. 

Pest professionals will implement an infestation control plan by mixing biological and chemical methodology, minimizing the use of pesticides. This is how to implement an integrated pest management program (IPM). It’s an effective and safe way to eliminate the presence of pests and prevent future infestations.

IPM strategies include focusing on entry points that pests may get through, removing attractants like certain plants or existing bugs, and incorporating staff training into pest prevention.

Understanding the Unique Challenges of Healthcare Facilities

Common Pests in Healthcare Environments

Pests seek environments that are suitable for their survival. Healthcare facilities often provide these needs by offering places to hide away and food and beverages for patients or employees. 

The large amount of foot traffic in places like nursing homes and hospitals also puts the facility at risk of pests being brought in on carriers. Some of the most common pests found in healthcare environments include the following:

  • Ants
  • Bed bugs
  • Cockroaches
  • Flies
  • Rodents

The Risks Pests Pose to Patient Health and Facility Hygiene

Pests aren’t just a visible nuisance; they cause problems for staff and patients. The biggest threat to health and safety is the ability of pests to spread disease-causing germs and pathogens onto the surfaces they touch. 

Rodents are known to carry over 35 diseases that can spread through contact with their urine, saliva, and feces. Cockroaches contaminate food with bacteria, fungi, and parasites that can cause diseases like salmonella. House flies transmit over 65 diseases; the list goes on.

Along with the risk of disease and contamination, pests can cause physical harm and damage to people and items. Ants are associated with damage to electrical wiring, insulation, and drywall. All of these must be kept in top condition when dealing with sick and hurt people.

Likewise, healthcare environments are the most common locations for Infestations due to bed bugs. 59% of bed bug infestations alone occur in nursing homes. When pests put your hospital at risk, they also put the patients and staff at risk.

Regulatory Compliance and Standards

Health Regulations Governing Pest Control in Healthcare

Healthcare facilities must meet the standard of health regulations to be deemed safe for staff and patients. Pest companies you hire must have the proper certifications and licensing, and all chemical usage must meet the guidelines.

Achieving Compliance through Effective Pest Management Strategies

You can stay on top of maintaining a pest-free environment by hiring regular pest control year-round. Pest professionals bring tools and techniques to the table that are only accessible with proper certifications and licensing. They’ll eliminate current pests in your facility and implement measures to prevent future infestations.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Healthcare

Principles of IPM in a Healthcare Context

IPM’s primary goals are to prevent and control. This means creating an environment that deters pests from entering and removes existing pests. 

To break it down further, pest professionals who use the IPM method will close up cracks and gaps in the foundation of the building, remove food and water sources, expose hidden areas where nests can be built, and exterminate existing pests. The key is to prevent pests while minimizing the need for pesticides effectively.

Customizing IPM Strategies for Different Healthcare Facilities

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to pests. Pest experts will evaluate your facility’s unique needs and problems and then develop a plan of action to address these. 

They’ll also leave you with tips and tricks to stay consistent between pest control appointments. For example, adding door sweeps to major entryways or switching cardboard boxes to plastic storage makes it more difficult for pests to get into places.

Preventive Measures for Pest Control

Importance of Sanitation and Hygiene

Especially in a healthcare setting, hygiene and sanitation is a must. You’re dealing with immunocompromised patients who have exposed wounds, which means they need a safe environment to heal in. Pest control keeps out rodents and bugs that can spread diseases and the potential of infection in your patients and staff.

Structural Maintenance to Deter Pest Infestations

Pests are especially determined to enter buildings as the weather cools off. If your facility has warmth and the promise of shelter, pests will come looking. Seal off areas where pests may be able to enter, such as cracks in the foundation, improperly sealed doors and windows, gaps in entryways, ventilation without screens, and more. 

If an opening from the outside leads in, tiny pests will try to fit themselves in. Pest control can help close harder-to-reach areas off and identify places you may not have noticed as well.

Patient Safety and Non-Toxic Solutions

Choosing Safe Pest Control Methods in Sensitive Environments

Before pesticides and chemicals come into play, other safer methods exist. These include the methods of bait and traps, physical barriers, and biological pest control.

Baits and Traps

There are plenty of traps you can use to deter and exterminate pests without chemicals. Some of the most common are sticky traps, hanging fly traps, electric traps (zappers), and pheromone traps.

Physical Barriers

Physical barriers aim to keep the pest out of your facility. You can add screens to ventilation, door sweeps to entryways, caulking to cracks, and wherever else pests can get in through.

Biological Pest Control

With biological pest control, a pest expert will introduce a natural predator into the environment that can target specific pests. For healthcare facilities, this works best with outdoor areas such as gardens where the predator is of the least harm to humans.

Employee Training and Involvement

Educating Healthcare Staff on Pest Prevention and Identification

Make sure your staff knows the signs of pest activity so you can act fast in the case of an infestation. Have them report odd sounds, foul odors, unidentified droppings, and all other signs pointing to pest problems.

Collaborating with Professional Pest Control Services

Selecting a Pest Control Partner for Healthcare Facilities

It’s best to go with a pest control company that offers pest control services for your specific type of facility: healthcare. Generic pest control may not be able to meet the needs of your particular situation. 

Insectek specializes in commercial pest control to help facilities like yours. We take an IPM approach to healthcare facilities to keep our methods clean and safe but still highly effective.

Implementing Regular Inspections and Monitoring Systems

We offer monthly, bi-monthly, and quarterly inspections for our customers so that they can choose the plan that best suits their needs. We’ll recommend the best method based on the initial assessment of your facility, considering things like vulnerability to infestation, existing problems, and the risk of a future infestation.

Adapting Pest Control Strategies Based on Continuous Assessment

Pest control adapts to its environment. Each visit will look different as our professional exterminators identify your facility’s immediate needs. One session may focus on preventative maintenance, while another is used for exterminating an existing infestation.
Learn more today about Insectek’s approach to long-term healthcare facility pest control.

You May Also Like