Health system implements Ebola protocols
Lee Memorial Health System officials are taking a proactive approach to prepare for the Ebola virus.
Steve Streed, system director of epidemiology, said the scope of the outbreak caught them by surprise, but that they have taken steps to prepare locally, should there be a case or cases here.
One way is to identify cases to avoid transmissions. The system will follow the Center for Disease Control recommendations by screening patients, Streed said at a press conference at HealthPark Medical Center on Monday.
“It has to do with a combination of symptoms, fever, headache, muscle pain and diarrhea and their travel history. Merged together they can discover who possibly carries the virus,” he said.
Special precaustions will be taken if Ebola is suspected.
“If an alert is triggered, a red banner will be placed on the patient’s chart to maintain the level of vigilance,” said William Carracino, vice president of medical information.
Those patients will be quarantined in a special room, where the caregivers will go to an isolation cart with protective materials to protect them from a possible breech in protocols or exposure.
The designated areas on each campus will be the “negative pressure” or airborne isolation rooms, set up so there’s no airflow coming out. It’s dealt with as if it was an infective disease, Streed said.
The system has also created an ebola “tool kit” that has been distributed to emergency rooms and other key areas, which keeps everyone updated on the latest CDC regulations and instructions on how to protect themselves and deliver patient care.
“Preparedness is not a theory, but what we practice. We have had meetings with stakeholders and have had practice exercises with more to come,” Streed said. “Practice is very important and we will know what to do.”
Training will involve working with a mock patient and mock event, Saunders said, so they can walk through the steps from “Point A to Point B.”
“Things you don’t think about like touching an elevator key or going in and out of a room. Unless you do it point by point, you miss some steps,” Saunders said.
The protocols regarding the removal of protective clothing are especially important, since it is believed there were breeches that led to someone contracting ebola.
Mary Beth Saunders, system epidemiologist, said the skeletal steps in training has begun with those who may be exposed to patients, and that the next step will be to get the steps they need to do in training personnel to keep them and the community safe.
And it’s not voluntary.
“Thirty years ago, we had the first notions of the AIDS epidemic. At that time it was involuntary. We have taken an oath to care for patients, so we know our staff cares for patients and would care for them as they would anyone else,” Saunders said.
In the nine days since the beginning of the Ebola scare, no triggers have gone off.
While admitting the likelihood of contraction is deemed slim, the arrival of international tourists is expected as season arrives.
“We have an international airport and lots of tourists and they either come here or have family who comes here,” Saunders said. “Even though the likelihood is low, we feel we need to be prepared.”
Also making it difficult is the fact that day after day more news comes out regarding possible infections and more deaths. Saunders said this makes every day a challenge.
“Every day we change the game. This is very fluid. We get new information every day, and every day we change the tool kit, pull the team together and discuss it,” Saunders said.
“The biggest challenge will be safety.”