Hospital facilities in the St. Louis area are closely monitoring the situation with the Ebola outbreak while making plans should there be cases of the virus locally.
A spokesperson for Mercy said its facilities across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma are taking every precaution in evaluating patients for possible Ebola virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend following standard droplet precautions for any patient who presents with symptoms and has recently traveled to an Ebola-affected country. CDC guidelines have been distributed to all medical personnel at Mercy.
“In addition, to further ensure the safety of our health care workers, visitors and other patients, Mercy will implement CDC airborne precautions, a more stringent level in which anyone who enters the patient’s room will wear a N95 or higher level respirator,” said Bethany Pope, media relations manager at Mercy St. Louis. “While Ebola is not spread through the air, but via direct contact with body fluids, airborne precautions provide an extra measure of safety and enable closer patient contact.”
A spokesman for Barnes-Jewish Hospital said the hospital has reviewed and exercised protocols to quickly recognize, isolate and treat persons suspected of having Ebola Virus Disease in a manner that will prevent spread of infection to others.
At SSM HealthCare, Steve Van Dinter, system director of media relations, said staff has recently reviewed the signs and symptoms of Ebola and the necessary steps to take if they feel their patient exhibits any signs and symptoms of this disease.
“Our electronic health record system, Epic, has been updated to include an Ebola checklist, which is an additional reminder to staff to be on the lookout for anyone exhibiting signs and symptoms of the disease,” Van Dinter said. “Should someone be identified with a suspected case, we would place them in isolation. This would be out of an abundance of caution to ensure the continued safety of our patients, visitors and staff.”
Ebola can only be spread through direct contact with an infected person’s blood or other bodily fluids, or through objects (like needles) have come in contact with the virus.
“Those caring for a confirmed or suspected case of Ebola would wear at least gloves, a gown, eye goggles and a facemask. Additional personal protective equipment may be needed especially in cases where there is contact with blood, vomit, feces or other bodily fluids,” he added. “Health care providers would also perform routine and thorough hand hygiene both before and after patient contact and before putting on and after removing personal protective equipment, including gloves.”
Any suspected cases would be reported to local, state and federal public health authorities and SSM would work closely with authorities and the CDC to coordinate its response.
Tenet Health, which operates Saint Louis University Hospital sent a memo to employees on its plan of action for potential Ebola patients, following CDC recommendations on screening, placement and isolation. Patients will immediately be given a mask and placed on standard, contact and droplet isolation precautions and placed in a negative pressure isolation room. Personnel treating the patient would wear protective equipment, including double gloving, leg coverings and airborne precautions. Only required personnel will be admitted to an Ebola patient’s room and entries will be logged.
For more on Ebola, visit http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/about.html.