Photo By Rachel Larue | Participants in a personal protective equipment training session practice the buddy...... read more read more
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Healthcare providers at Andrew Rader U.S. Army Health Clinic practiced response protocol March 18 in the event that a patient infected with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) comes to the clinic for help.
The drill was the first large-scale Ebola response training exercise since a similar simulation in November 2014, during the initial outbreak in West Africa and the isolated cases around the U.S., said Lt. Col. Ed Weinberg, Rader Clinic commander.
Nearly 30 doctors and nurses practiced the proper donning and removal of personal protective equipment (PPEs) that would be used if the clinic encountered a patient infected with the disease.
Weinberg said the chance of Rader Clinic getting a patient with EVD is very low. Still, with Operation United Assistance, the U.S. military’s mission to Western Africa to help built treatment centers, coming to a close and personnel returning to the United States, Weinberg said it’s important for clinic staff to be comfortable handling an emergency situation.
During the exercise, caregivers suited up in protective gear that covers one’s body from head to toe. Staffers paired off as they geared up so that their partners could inspect their gear and make sure there were no points of exposure.
Removing the suit is a more painstaking process, according to Eileen Wilson, public health nurse at Rader Clinic.
“Typically it will take about 10 minutes to put the equipment on,” Wilson said. “To take it off is supposed to take at least 20 minutes. It has to be a very slow and deliberate process. It’s longer too because you’re going to be inspecting for any potential signs of infection and disinfecting against them before you remove that equipment.”
Aside from a completely sealed suit with an oxygen tank, the PPEs are one of the highest levels of protection a caregiver can get.
“You could use this type of equipment for any sort of blood-borne infection,” said Dr. Tom Ryder, a primary care physician at the clinic. “It’s a much higher level than you would need for most things, like the flu, chicken pox.”
Weinberg said PPEs could also be used when responding to patients with other infectious diseases, such as West Nile Virus or Yellow Fever.
The exercise was preceded by an overview of the disease and the clinic’s response protocol.
If a patient’s symptoms and travel history point toward an EVD infection, he or she would be isolated, Wilson said.
“There are certain screening questions you would ask if somebody said that they had the symptoms,” she said. “Start with asking questions about the potential symptoms. Ask whether they’ve traveled anywhere. If somebody is positive and they’re here in your clinic, you’re going to consider donning that equipment.”
Equipment has to be removed and disposed of after every interaction with a patient.
Once symptoms and exposure are confirmed, Rader has a coordinated response plan with Arlington County Emergency Medical Services, Fort Belvoir and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to determine whether a patient should be transferred for treatment.
More information on EVD protocol for health care workers can be found at www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/index.html.
| Date Taken: | 03.19.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.26.2015 17:09 |
| Story ID: | 158244 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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