Marshall Browning Hospital Preparedness

Part of being a hospital with an Emergency Department is being ready to handle whatever walks in the door. In this day and age, with a global society that travels all over, that could be anything. Right now, the big focus is on Ebola preparedness. Hospitals all over the country are getting ready "just in case". Marshall Browning Hospital has put together a plan based on the current CDC guidelines for dealing with Ebola if it should ever come here.

The unfortunate side of the plan is that we need it. The chances of Ebola coming into Perry County and the Marshall Browning Hospital service area are very small. We need to be ready "just in case". There are some major benefits to all of this preparation, too. If Ebola ever does come into Marshall Browning the staff will have the training and knowledge to take care of the patient while protecting the other patients and themselves. That's an obvious benefit. The less obvious benefit is that some of the skills and some of the knowledge also apply to things more likely to happen. The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) used with Ebola may also be used with other infections like Influenza, Clostridium difficile (C. Diff) and others. Similar PPE is also used for Hazardous Material (Hazmat) like chemical spills.

The training of staff according to CDC guidelines to deal with Ebola involves practicing putting on (donning) and taking off (doffing) the Personal Protective Equipment safely and learning to identify patients at risk for Ebola. Staff must be very careful to make sure the outside of the PPE doesn't touch their face or clothing as they take it off. It also involves "Screening" patients to see if they are at risk. Any patient coming to the Marshall Browning Emergency Department will be asked if they have traveled outside the United States or been around anyone who has traveled outside the United States. Then they are asked what their symptoms are. You must have traveled outside the United States or have been in contact with someone who has traveled outside the United States and have symptoms of Ebola to be considered at risk for it. Symptoms of Ebola are severe headache, fever, muscle aches, abdominal or stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.

These are very common symptoms of many illnesses. That is why the travel history is so important. These symptoms may also be malaria, influenza or variant influenzas like bird flu (SARS) or the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

The important things to remember are to wash your hands or use alcohol based hand sanitizer, cover your cough or sneeze, and stay home if you are sick. If you need to see your healthcare provider, call ahead and let them know you are sick. The provider's staff may ask you to come in a different entrance, tell you to go straight to the Emergency Department, or tell you to call an ambulance.

Preparedness is an important part of healthcare. Marshall Browning stays current with the recommendations from the CDC. The hospital and clinic also work with the Illinois Department of Public Health, the American and Illinois Hospital Associations, and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC). The guidelines and training advances are updated any time the guidelines from CDC change. Marshall Browning Hospital, the Physicians' Clinic, and their staffs work to be ready for any situation, and want you to be safe and healthy over the coming year.