University of Toledo Medical Center leaders sent a letter Thursday to clinicians updating them on the status of UTMC’s preparedness and planning should a patient with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) be admitted.
“Since July, The University of Toledo Medical Center has been planning for the possibility of a patient with EVD being treated at UTMC,” wrote Dave Morlock, chief executive officer, Dr. Carl Sirio, chief operating and clinical officer, and Dan Barbee, vice president for patient care services.
“In recent weeks, and following news of EVD cases in Dallas, UTMC’s safety and health leadership has been continually training personnel who are designated to care for a patient with EVD should that situation arise,” they wrote, noting that UTMC’s Emergency Department has been asking for travel histories from patients who visit since July.
“No staff member will be asked to care for a patient with EVD or Ebola-like symptoms who has not been trained in putting on and taking off EVD-protective equipment,” they wrote.
UTMC officials said they have been in continual coordination with the Lucas County Health Department, have kept apprised on advisories and information from the Centers for Disease Control, and also contacted and integrated information from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which has treated cases of EVD.
“While The University of Toledo Medical Center is ready to respond should a patient with Ebola be admitted, please keep in mind that at the present time, per the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, EVD can only be contracted with direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. UTMC will continue to monitor the situation and will update information knowing that this is a very dynamic situation,” Morlock, Sirio and Barbee wrote.
As UTMC responds to the changing realties of EVD, employees are advised to visit utoledo.edu/depts/infectioncontrol/CurrentHotTopics.html as well as regular communications vehicles for updates.
