New white paper answers questions about bed bugs

ATLANTA — With increasing national coverage of beg bug infestations, Orkin Inc. and the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES) of the American Hospital Association (AHA) have released a new white paper to answer questions about bed bugs and their implications for health care and long-term care providers, according to a press release.

In "Pulling Back the Sheets on the Bed Bug Controversy: Research, Prevention and Management in Hospital & Long-Term Care Facilities,” Orkin entomologists Ron Harrison, Ph.D. and Bill Lawrence, Ph.D. examine the current position of the medical and pest management communities on the bed bug issue, share Orkin technical and field research and offer tips on prevention, early detection and remediation, the release stated.

According to the release, the white paper will be distributed at the ASHES Annual Conference & Technical Exhibition in Reno, Nevada, September 21-22, after which it will be available for download at www.ashes.org.

ASHES and Orkin have partnered on educational materials in the past, including the ASHES Recommended Practice on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the health care industry, the release noted.

ASHES Executive Director Patti Costello said: "Concern about bed bugs has grown steadily over the past decade alongside the bed bugs resurgence. We asked Orkin to provide some insight to help our members better understand the practical issues and solutions surrounding these pests."

LEED Gold-certified homeless shelter

LEESBURG, VA — The new combined homeless shelter and transitional housing center is Loudoun County's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building, according to the Loudoun Times-Mirror.

Achieving certification on the Gold level, the building features low-flow fixtures, no volatile organic compound (VOC) paint, carpet and furniture, an ultraviolet (UV) light air filtration system and occupancy sensors for lighting, the story stated.

Ninety-seven percent of construction waste generated from the project was recycled rather than put into a landfill, the story noted.

According to the story, additional LEED points were earned by incorporating bikes racks to encourage non-fossil fuel transportation and offering preferred parking for low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicles.

Bill Clark of the Department of Construction and Solid Waste Management, said: "[This is] a good thing for us to do, to build this sort of structure and not ignore these people and not judge them but to help them. It defines us as a community. [This is a project] everyone should be proud of, a really good use of tax dollars."

The shelter, which was worked on by Waynesboro Construction and is operated by Volunteers of America, was expanded from 8,000 square feet to 18,000 square feet and is set to open later this month, the story added.

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Memphis City Schools lose a couple hundred custodians

MEMPHIS, TN — After several rounds of layoffs have lessened the number of custodians cleaning Memphis City Schools by a couple hundred, many are concerned that limited personnel will hinder efforts to clean and sanitize the schools, according to WHBQ-TV.

Memphis City Schools consist of more than 200 schools and each has only three custodians and a building engineer to perform all of the necessary work, the story stated.

To avoid outbreaks from a number of viruses, Memphis City Schools are following government protocols and cleaning restrooms three times daily and disinfecting sports equipment after each use, the story noted.

School Board member Reverend Kenneth Whalum Junior said: "I hope they can do the job with fewer numbers. It seems to me, though, that common sense would say it's going to be a lot harder to do so."

To ensure that a quality job is still done despite fewer custodians, all surfaces in Memphis City Schools, including students' and teachers' desks, window sills, floors and other high-touch surfaces are cleaned with a damp mop, wet mopped and then treated with an antibacterial solution, the story added.

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Allegations of racially motivated firings

MONTGOMERY, AL — Alabama State Representative Alvin Holmes has called for an official investigation into the firing of 44 city janitors, a move he claims was racially motivated, according to WSFA-TV.

In a letter sent to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Holmes points out that 99 percent of the laid-off janitors are black, and he contends their termination violates federal anti-discrimination laws, the story stated.

City of Montgomery spokesman Michael Briddell said: "At no point in the process did we look at the ethnicity of the people affected. All we looked at were job functions that could be reduced or eliminated so we could save the money we needed to in the upcoming budget."

Many of the laid-off janitors have already found other positions with similar pay and benefits, including some who will now work for the private janitorial service the city has hired to replace them, the story noted.

Upwards of 100 city employees are losing their jobs as a result of reduced revenue, and the city claims race was never a deciding factor in their decision-making process, the story added.

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NY's Cornell University reports swine flu outbreak

As of 9/8/09 the total number of students diagnosed by Gannett Health Services with probable H1N1 influenza has increased to 291. On 9/4/09 reports show 140 students with probable cases of the H1N1 virus.

Swine flu hits University of Virginia

at the University of Virginia, the health service had diagnosed 27 students with flu by Thursday. That stunned Dr. James Turner, director of Virginia’s Department of Student Health, who has spent 25 years tending to students on college campuses. “I’ve never seen a flu season ever in September,’’ said Turner, who is also president of the American College Health Association. “I use the word ‘explosive’ to describe it. I don’t recall flu that appears and spreads so rapidly.’’

University of Maryland more than 250 possible swine flu cases

Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 -

Less than two weeks into the semester, more than 250 students at the University of Maryland, College Park, have come down with flu-like symptoms, and university officials are working to combat what could be the spread of the H1N1 virus, or swine flu.

As of Wednesday, 256 students had visited the university's health center with swine flu symptoms such as coughing, a sore throat and runny nose since the first day of classes on Aug. 31, according to university spokesman Neil Tickner.