The hot topic in the world of public health now is the Ebola virus. While the chances of a widespread American outbreak are ridiculously slim, we would be remiss if we did not jump at the opportunity to prepare for a case to show up here. With our proximity to Atlanta, and Hartsfield Jackson international airport, and the miles of interstate that travel through our county, you never know what could happen. Taking our guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and state of Georgia Department of Public Health, the Monroe County Hospital along with the Monroe County Fire Department and Emergency Management conducted an exercise yesterday should we need to deal with a highly contagious patient. Believe it or not, we already have plans in place to deal with an epidemic such as this. We have made specific changes to deal with Ebola and we wanted to test those new procedures. However, a rare Ebola virus may not be the only type of patient that needs isolating. People exposed to hazardous materials, meth labs or some other highly contagious illness could show up at our door. Testing procedures, plans and equipment only helps to protect the staff, the patient and the community.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 18:16:11 +0000
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