Health workers in Lee Memorial’s hospitals are getting trained on how to safely handle cases of Ebola. Officials at Lee Memorial Health System informed the media Monday about the hospital chain’s efforts to prepare for any possible case of Ebola.
Even though an Ebola case is unlikely in this area, the virus is highly contagious and deadly. So, the hospital chain is preparing protocol.
The same day Lee Memorial announced its plans to train its staff on how to diagnose and isolate these patients, the Centers for Disease Control urged the nation's hospitals to "think Ebola."
System Director Stephen Streed said Lee Memorial’s hospitals have already taken first steps.
“At this point in time we have the screening process, which has been in place,” he said. “We have the isolation cart which has the materials on it for our caregivers to use. We have specific instructions.”
Streed said staff is also getting an Ebola toolkit. It’s a binder containing updated information on how to treat the virus, as well as avoid its spread. Hospital officials said the safety of its own staff is also a priority.
Right now, the CDC is looking into a confirmed transmission of the virus here in the U.S.
A health care worker in Dallas recently got the virus treating a man traveling from Liberia. Officials said the nurse was wearing full protective gear, but caught it anyway. CDC chief Tom Frieden said it was due to a breach of protocol.
