Ebola Q&A for Health Care Workers
Participants on the “NETEC Town Hall: Preparing Frontline Healthcare Workers for Ebola” webinar submitted questions to our subject matter experts. Many of the questions were answered during the event, however the remaining questions have been answered by our experts below. While many answers are universal, some responses are based on the practices within a particular institution that supports NETEC. If you have additional questions, please contact our support services group by filling out this form.
Q&As:
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
We train a cohort of “super users” in the emergency department (e.g., charge nurses) that can assist others who need to doff PPE under these circumstances. This personnel would be trained by our special pathgens team in donning and doffing PPE required for PUIs with Ebola virus disease. This would include super users for all shifts. We also have super users from among the isolation unit care team that are available to assist staff with less frequent training.
Category:
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
The safest first choice is to close off the space until the diagnosis is confirmed. Facilities are much more likely to have PUIs that rule out than actually have Ebola. Ebola can remain transmissible on surfaces, so primary cleaning should occur in at least the minimum PPE (fluid resistant gown, mask, face shield, and double gloves) and ideally the care team will ensure that waste is in appropriate containers, any spills of body fluids have been cleaned up with an EPA-approved disinfectant, and there are no hidden dangers like sharps or grossly contaminated items before the space is handed off to EVS.
Waste should receive a primary packaging in the designated care space in leak proof bags that are securely closed. You may wish to contact your waste transport company now to determine what secondary packaging they require. We have a link to the federal guidelines that go over the requirements.
Category:
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)