Hi
About 18 months ago, my housemate started experiencing bites, which she suspected were due to bedbugs. After 2 months of paranoia, a PCO inspection (no bedbugs), CO2 detectors (no bedbugs) and several doctor's visits, we eventually figured out that the problem was rat mites. We got rid of the rats, thoroughly cleaned the house, and the problem went away.
However all the research I did at the time has made me paranoid. For several years I had volunteered at Berkeley Free Clinic as a Peer Counselor, but put that on hiatus after my house bedbug scare. I really want to go back to volunteering, but have been afraid to do so. I'm wondering how to gauge the risks involved, and whether there are reasonable precautions I can take to make it safe.
Here's the situation:
The clinic sees clients for 3 hours (6pm to 9pm) on weekdays, and has limited service on Saturday mornings.
The clinic has a waiting room, exam rooms, 3 counseling rooms and a big meeting room. There are 2 sofas, cloth and plastic chairs. Apart from in the counseling rooms, all chairs used by the clientele are plastic.
There are no beds.
There is one employee who sleeps in the clinic (on a sofa). I'm not sure if he is still doing this.
The clinic is usually unoccupied before 6pm on weekdays, and apart from the above employee is also unoccupied after 10pm every night.
In the 4 years since I joined, none of the volunteers or employees has ever reported any suspected bedbug issues, either at home or at the clinic (I'm on the email list, so even though I've not been going in, I still see all the communications and all the meeting notes).
A few months ago, a counselor saw a client who suspected bedbugs in his home, but none of the staff or volunteers reported any subsequent problems.
In early 2014, the clinic treated a client with a constantly recurring problem with lice and scabies. The employee who sleeps in the clinic got scabies (I think), but nobody else was affected.
The clinic treats a number of homeless people.
How risky is it for me to volunteer?
How would the risk compare to buses, subways, movie theatres, doctor's offices, etc?
What can I do to reduce the risk, if I decide to go back?
How practical would it be for the clinic to get inspected (by a PCO) as a preventative measure, and how often should this be done? How expensive is it likely to be (there are about 10 rooms total)?
Thanks ....