MONROE - Teams of emergency and health officials in Green and Lafayette counties are making further preparations and coordinating with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services in the event the Ebola virus is diagnosed locally.
There are no reported cases of Ebola in Wisconsin, according to RoAnn Warden, Green County health officer, and Sue Matye, director and health officer of Lafayette County Health Department, in reports released last week.
Both county health officials said preparing and collaborating on the federal, state and local level will ensure that public and health care providers receive prompt public health information. Health care workers and first responders are keenly aware that they must be especially vigilant in following rigorous safety practices in case they are ever called on to assist or care for an Ebola patient, their reports added.
Monroe Clinic has a lead team that meets weekly to collaborate and manage its emergency response and training as the Center for Disease Control continues to update its advisories and guidelines, according to Patricia Lawson, Monroe Clinic's director of marketing/community relations. Staff continues to plan and practice the techniques and procedures as set out by the CDC, in the event they encounter a patient at risk.
Kathy Ruef, director of nursing and chief operating officer at Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County, reported staff members at that hospital are practicing putting on and taking off personal protective equipment, following the current Center for Disease Control and Wisconsin regional Hospital Emergency Preparedness Program safety procedures.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services also announced Oct. 24 that, in addition to the information available on the DHS website, a toll free line is now available for state residents with questions about the Ebola virus.
The Wisconsin Hospital Emergency Preparedness Program supports hospital emergency preparedness planning and response to mass casualty incidents or pandemic events. The Wisconsin DHS website explains that a critical aspect of hospital emergency response planning is that all hospitals operate as "one region" under "one response plan" to provide an organized response to an incident.
"They keep us current on the state plan and coordinate hospitals," Ruef added.
HEPP Region 5 holds weekly meetings, which Ruef said she and other hospital officials can attend by teleconferences. The region includes the counties of Rock, Green, Lafayette, Grant, Iowa, Dane, Jefferson, Dodge, Columbia, Sauk, Richland, Juneau, Adams and Marquette.
In the event a patient is suspected to have Ebola, Ruef said, the hospitals use a referral pattern. First, the patient is isolated and quarantined, staff safety is ensured with personal protective equipment (PPE), and then the hospital works with and through the state public health department to determine whether the patient meets the criteria for testing.
If so, blood samples are drawn from the patient and shipped via a process with the state medical lab to the CDC in Atlanta for testing. Ruef said the result may take up to 48 hours.
A patient confirmed to be infected by Ebola would need to be transported to the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, which is a class 1 trauma care level hospital. It is the only class 1 level hospital in Region 5. By comparison, Memorial Hospital in Darlington and Monroe Clinic Hospital are classified as level 4 for trauma care.
The state has also set up Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee as a hospital for Ebola patients. Madison and Milwaukee children's hospitals will receive children diagnosed with Ebola.
Waste disposal is another area of extensive concern for the hospitals. Ruef said her staff is getting "extensive" training in the handling of waste products, including linens, and in environmental control.
In its disposal of contaminated materials, Memorial Hospital uses Madison Environmental Resource Inc. (MERI), a fully licensed and insured medical waste removal and disposal company, which serves hospitals, clinics and skilled nursing homes. MERI provides disposal and destruction of regulated medical waste, laboratory waste, red bag waste, pharmaceutical waste, pathological and chemotherapy waste, sharps and hazardous waste. It uses microwave processing to ensure safety in their treatment of medical waste products.
"We will continue to review and update our plans for transporting and isolating a patient with Ebola, and we continue to practice the best methods of sanitation, including the disposal of waste," Ruef added.
Wisconsin residents can call 1-844-684-1064, a toll free line, with questions about the Ebola virus, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The calls are free, confidential, and multi-lingual. DHS has partnered with Wisconsin to establish the information line. For more information about Ebola and Wisconsin's preparedness efforts, visit: http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/communicable/diseasepages/ebola.htm.
There are no reported cases of Ebola in Wisconsin, according to RoAnn Warden, Green County health officer, and Sue Matye, director and health officer of Lafayette County Health Department, in reports released last week.
Both county health officials said preparing and collaborating on the federal, state and local level will ensure that public and health care providers receive prompt public health information. Health care workers and first responders are keenly aware that they must be especially vigilant in following rigorous safety practices in case they are ever called on to assist or care for an Ebola patient, their reports added.
Monroe Clinic has a lead team that meets weekly to collaborate and manage its emergency response and training as the Center for Disease Control continues to update its advisories and guidelines, according to Patricia Lawson, Monroe Clinic's director of marketing/community relations. Staff continues to plan and practice the techniques and procedures as set out by the CDC, in the event they encounter a patient at risk.
Kathy Ruef, director of nursing and chief operating officer at Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County, reported staff members at that hospital are practicing putting on and taking off personal protective equipment, following the current Center for Disease Control and Wisconsin regional Hospital Emergency Preparedness Program safety procedures.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services also announced Oct. 24 that, in addition to the information available on the DHS website, a toll free line is now available for state residents with questions about the Ebola virus.
The Wisconsin Hospital Emergency Preparedness Program supports hospital emergency preparedness planning and response to mass casualty incidents or pandemic events. The Wisconsin DHS website explains that a critical aspect of hospital emergency response planning is that all hospitals operate as "one region" under "one response plan" to provide an organized response to an incident.
"They keep us current on the state plan and coordinate hospitals," Ruef added.
HEPP Region 5 holds weekly meetings, which Ruef said she and other hospital officials can attend by teleconferences. The region includes the counties of Rock, Green, Lafayette, Grant, Iowa, Dane, Jefferson, Dodge, Columbia, Sauk, Richland, Juneau, Adams and Marquette.
In the event a patient is suspected to have Ebola, Ruef said, the hospitals use a referral pattern. First, the patient is isolated and quarantined, staff safety is ensured with personal protective equipment (PPE), and then the hospital works with and through the state public health department to determine whether the patient meets the criteria for testing.
If so, blood samples are drawn from the patient and shipped via a process with the state medical lab to the CDC in Atlanta for testing. Ruef said the result may take up to 48 hours.
A patient confirmed to be infected by Ebola would need to be transported to the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, which is a class 1 trauma care level hospital. It is the only class 1 level hospital in Region 5. By comparison, Memorial Hospital in Darlington and Monroe Clinic Hospital are classified as level 4 for trauma care.
The state has also set up Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee as a hospital for Ebola patients. Madison and Milwaukee children's hospitals will receive children diagnosed with Ebola.
Waste disposal is another area of extensive concern for the hospitals. Ruef said her staff is getting "extensive" training in the handling of waste products, including linens, and in environmental control.
In its disposal of contaminated materials, Memorial Hospital uses Madison Environmental Resource Inc. (MERI), a fully licensed and insured medical waste removal and disposal company, which serves hospitals, clinics and skilled nursing homes. MERI provides disposal and destruction of regulated medical waste, laboratory waste, red bag waste, pharmaceutical waste, pathological and chemotherapy waste, sharps and hazardous waste. It uses microwave processing to ensure safety in their treatment of medical waste products.
"We will continue to review and update our plans for transporting and isolating a patient with Ebola, and we continue to practice the best methods of sanitation, including the disposal of waste," Ruef added.
Wisconsin residents can call 1-844-684-1064, a toll free line, with questions about the Ebola virus, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The calls are free, confidential, and multi-lingual. DHS has partnered with Wisconsin to establish the information line. For more information about Ebola and Wisconsin's preparedness efforts, visit: http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/communicable/diseasepages/ebola.htm.