WDMH is Ebola ready

Although the likelihood of Winchester District Memorial Hospital ever seeing an Ebola patient is low, there are still very prepared.

Since the Ministry of Health sent out the first Ebola alert to hospitals, WDMH went to work right away on developing a kit and process to ensure the safety of its staff and patients.

Those visiting the hospital emergency recently may have already noticed the difference.

Now, all patients walking in to the emergency room must answer a screening question through a closed glass partition.

It is not until after staff confirms that the patient has not travelled to Africa that they open that partition to continue the triage process.

If the patient is at risk of having come into contact with Ebola, the Ebola process takes effect. It involves the donning of protective gear, the patient being taken to a specific area of the hospital, public health being notified and the hospital following the directives of infectious disease specialists, which are at the Ottawa Hospital and CHEO.

Should a patient with Ebola risk arrive by ambulance, WDMH staff would do all they could to help the patient without leaving the ambulance, and that patient would be taken to one of the city infectious disease sites for treatment.

WDMH has all the equipment it needs to deal with an Ebola situation, and staff have been trained in the process, and the especially important donning and doffing process, which the demonstrated to area media last week.

“Even though the likelihood of seeing Ebola here is low, the risk is still scary,” said Laura Landry, the nurse leading the demonstration. “After all the training with the equipment, I actually feel quite safe, if this situation ever arises.”

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