Bats Close Emergency Room for at Least 2 Weeks

KILGORE (AP) – An East Texas emergency room has been closed after bats began to spread through the building. In a statement posted Tuesday night on the Kilgore Police Department social media pages, Good Shepherd Medical Center said “a number of small bats” had moved into the Longview, Texas-based hospital’s free-standing emergency room in nearby Kilgore. The bats had moved into the building’s walls and ceilings, with some migrating into the area that receives ambulances.

The removal of bats from the Good Shepherd Medical Center emergency room on South Henderson Boulevard in Kilgore will close the facility for two to 2 1/2 weeks. According to the Longview News-Journal, the hospital has been experiencing “a number ” of small bats in the walls and ceiling of the Kilgore facility, and some have been spotted in the ER area, GSMC Chief Administrative Officer Ron Short said Tuesday in a statement. Good Shepherd has been working with the city of Kilgore and Allegiance Specialty Hospital, which owns and manages the building, to remove the bats. A wildlife expert was onsite Tuesday.