As a designated site to care for potential patients with Ebola virus disease, The Johns Hopkins Hospital has and continues to set plans in place to implement the safest procedures possible to keep its patients, employees and visitors safe. Although there are currently no patients with Ebola at any Johns Hopkins Medicine hospital, Johns Hopkins will continue to be proactive in identifying the best measures for preparedness. Dianne Whyne, director of operations for the Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR), talks about the current state of Ebola preparedness at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
If you have any questions for Dianne on Ebola prepareness at Johns Hopkins, ask your questions in the comments section below and she will answer some of them throughout the day.
How prepared is Johns Hopkins for a patient with Ebola?
Johns Hopkins is well prepared to identify and isolate any potential patients with possible exposure to Ebola, and to work closely with local and state health authorities to make an Ebola case confirmation or rule-out. In addition, The Johns Hopkins Hospital has been designated as one of three hospitals in the Baltimore–Washington region that would care for a patient with Ebola. As a result of many high-level discussions and detailed planning, patient screening procedures, clinical protocols, personal protective equipment training, patient care guidelines and other guidance has been developed in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. To learn more, visit the CEPAR web site: http://www.hopkins-cepar.org.
As an employee, should I be worried about exposure to the virus?
Employees should not be overly worried about exposure to the virus unless they have traveled or are planning approved travel to the areas of West Africa affected by the Ebola outbreak. All faculty, staff and students should become familiar with CEPAR’s interim guidance regarding Ebola and international travel. Read the document: http://www.hopkins-cepar.org/_docs/ebola_2014/ebola_travel_guidance.pdf
Are we using what we learned from past emerging disease events, like swine flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome and others?
CEPAR and its experts use lessons learned from disease outbreaks and other threats to help improve future preparedness.
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Thank you for the info.
My questions are;
1-Why all the space gear/moon suits and coverage of every inch of your body?
Ebola is contacted through blood and body fluids and contaminated fields (ex...if someone coughed on a surface and you touch it).
2-How long can it live outside of a body?