Texas Clinics, Hospitals Launch Ebola Training, Double-Checks

Oct. 14--

Hundreds of Travis County health care workers are being trained this week on what to do if they come in contact with an Ebola patient, from staff at major hospitals to paramedics who work in ambulances and workers at neighborhood emergency clinics.

Protocols for helping Ebola patients have been in place prior to the weekend, when officials confirmed a Dallas-area nurse was the first person to contract the deadly disease in America. But private and public health care providers say they are refreshing safety procedures with employees and implementing new ones.

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services call-takers and first responders will be trained on a new computer program that will guide them through a series of questions to ask about a patient's travel history. Officials also are asking workers to review how to properly put on and take off protective wear.

Paul Hinchey, medical director for EMS, said that asking about the travel history is important now that the flu season is starting. Many symptoms of Ebola -- like fever, body aches and diarrhea -- are also symptoms of the flu.

"The challenge there is that the flu is going to look an awful lot like Ebola except for the travel history," he said. "It's critical that we ask the questions and do the screening."

St. David's HealthCare this week will conduct simulations at its hospitals and emergency centers, training health care workers on how respond to an Ebola patient. The protocols are similar to those that have been implemented for smallpox and anthrax, according to Tom Knight, chief medical officer of St. David's. Each facility has a dedicated Ebola team, too.

Nina Pham, 26, contracted the virus at a Dallas hospital where Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian, was treated before he died earlier this month, according to the Dallas Morning News. Officials are investigating how she removed her protective gear among other procedures.

Officials have said the virus can only be spread by contact with the blood or bodily fluids of a person showing symptoms. It is a deadly disease that causes a fever of 101.5 degrees or higher, headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.

In light of the latest investigation, Hinchey said that EMS workers are being asked to review videos of how to properly remove protective gear, which typically includes gloves, an impervious gown, face mask and goggles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released material for health care workers about how to protect themselves when coming in contact with an Ebola patient, including best practices for removing the gear.

Although his employees will undergo training this week, John Frederick, chief medical officer of Travis County-based Premier Family Physicians, says the risk of the disease spreading to Austin is very low. Screening at major international airports has increased, and generally there's not a lot of travel to Central Texas from West Africa, officials say.

"The chance of having Ebola down in our part of the country is low," Frederick said, "so most of what we're dealing with is fear."

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