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Surprise Ebola drill at Canton-Potsdam Hospital

Posted 10/10/14

An unidentified woman playing the role of a patient potentially infected with the Ebola virus prepares to walk past signage at the entrance of the Canton-Potsdam Hospital emergency department during …

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Surprise Ebola drill at Canton-Potsdam Hospital

Posted

An unidentified woman playing the role of a patient potentially infected with the Ebola virus prepares to walk past signage at the entrance of the Canton-Potsdam Hospital emergency department during a recent drill. The area is monitored by, from left, Benjamin Gratto, Jeff Groenheide and Nancy Wood.

POTSDAM -- Canton-Potsdam Hospital put its emergency department through a surprise drill to test the ability of staff to recognize and appropriately respond to the threat of Ebola.

With no prior warning to staff, a local person playing the role of a patient meeting the criteria for suspected Ebola virus infection entered the emergency room just before noon. She was rapidly identified as a potential Ebola patient and was isolated. Actual patients, staff and the public were “protected” from the potential threat using New York State Department of Health and US Centers for Disease Control procedures.

“Drills are performed so we can pick every little thing apart,” CPH safety officer Benjamin C. Gratto said. “There’s a science to running a drill that will elicit the most useful information in a timely manner, assist us to prioritize, and set in place expectations for ongoing monitoring of our effectiveness.

“We expect to find gaps and we did … It’s absolutely vital to identify those gaps now, so we can correct them in the event of a suspected case that becomes a confirmed case.”

“Surprise exercises like this one are vital to detecting and correcting even the tiniest flaws in our system, staffing, training, procedures, and supply chain,” infection specialist Nancy A. Wood said. “As expected, staff performed to standard on rapid identification and isolation,” she said.

An information and training campaign on the Ebola threat has been ongoing since Aug. 5, when the first American health care workers treating Ebola patients in West Africa who came down with disease were flown for treatment in the United States, according to CPH.

Hospitals across the nation are preparing for the threat, which has taken a toll on people in several African nations and has affected off-shore aid workers and travelers to the area, three of whom were returned to the U.S. for treatment. Enhanced Ebola screenings at five U.S. airports were ordered and began on Wednesday, CPH said.

New York State issued several alerts in August and September, followed by situation reports to hospitals on Oct. 2 and 10, in which lines of communication among cooperating agencies were detailed, along with guidance on everything from medical waste and linen disposal to checklist tools for frontline personnel.

Canton-Potsdam Hospital and Gouverneur Hospital infection prevention and emergency management staff participated in several webinars and other meetings sponsored by the state Department of Health.

Wood noted that signs are prominently displayed on hospital entrances and at crossways that alerts the public and staff to the threat of Ebola and its common symptoms, which can appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days following exposure.

The signs ask the public and staff to be aware of the potential for Ebola virus infection and its symptoms, including fever, cough, trouble breathing, rash, vomiting, or diarrhea, and to report immediately to a staff member if they have traveled abroad or been in contact with someone who has been abroad.

“Ebola virus is transmitted from animals to humans and then among humans by direct contact with body fluids of infected person, which include blood, semen, mucus, saliva, vomit, sweat, tears, breast milk, and urine,” Wood said. “The infection travels when someone who has come in contact with one or more of these substances then touches his or her eye, mouth, nose, or an open wound or abrasion.

“Although it is unlikely we’ll see a case here in St. Lawrence County, awareness and vigilance are necessary because cases have been present in the United States and because of St. Lawrence County’s proximity to an international border and several international airports."

Wood noted that the attention placed on Ebola is an opportunity to educate the public about other infectious diseases that are more common.

“With all the caution and awareness we’re building with Ebola, it’s important to get your shots up to date to protect yourself from more common seasonal threats, like the flu,” said Wood.

The most up to date information on Ebola can be found on the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control at http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html

For more information about emergency preparedness, patient safety, and infection prevention at Canton-Potsdam Hospital or Gouverneur Hospital, contact Rebecca Faber at 261-5401.