This is a drill: Memorial ramps up training for deadly disease - just in case

photo Emergency room staff members move through the halls as they work Friday at Memorial Hospital. The hospital has put together an action plan and staff will be going through training to deal with the possibility of an Ebola virus infected patient.
photo An isolation room that could be used to quarantine an Ebola patient is seen at Memorial Hospital.
photo Infectious disease specialist Dr. Mark Anderson talks Friday about Memorial Hospital's efforts to prepare for the possibility of an Ebola patient.

It was only a drill on Friday morning for medical staff at Memorial Hospital.

The isolation room in the ICU was not sealed. The sliding glass doors guarding the room were not locked, and doctors were not wearing fluid-impermeable personal protective equipment as they would be if they were treating an actual Ebola patient.

But the medical staff was being instructed how to respond and treat a patient who contracted the disease - just in case.

The eyes of the world have been fixed on the rampaging Ebola epidemic in western Africa, and several patients who contracted the disease abroad have been treated at Emory University in Atlanta.

National concern soared this week as the first detected case of Ebola in the U.S. was found in Dallas.

Angst continued Friday afternoon when Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., confirmed in a telephone interview that its doctors are treating a patient with Ebola-like symptoms.

Hospital officials in Dallas, as well as in the African countries where Ebola has broken out, have come under harsh criticism for not taking proper steps to contain potentially infectious patients.

Memorial is taking every precaution to be prepared to detect and treat a local case of the frequently fatal virus should one occur.

"What happened in Dallas could happen anywhere," said Dr. Lee Hamilton. "We want to be prepared."

Hamilton said the hospital could handle a case of the virus if detected today, "but we would probably feel a lot better in two weeks, as we are still working a few logistics out."

Dr. Mark Anderson, infectious disease specialist and infection prevention director at Memorial, said the hospital will train staff to respond to a patient who may walk through the door showing symptoms.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website, symptoms of Ebola include high fever, severe headaches, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and unexplained hemorrhaging. Symptoms may appear anywhere between two and 21 days after exposure, but the average is eight to 10 days.

Anyone entering the hospital showing these symptoms would be moved directly into isolation to reduce any additional exposure, Anderson said, as people are only contagious when experiencing symptoms.

Cassandra Harden, nurse manager in Memorial's emergency room, said the ER is prepared to handle someone infected with Ebola, and that the ER's procedures are not changing drastically.

"We have asked similar questions to patients showing these types of symptoms for years," she said.

Erlanger hospital has similar procedures in place. Erlanger officials released a statement Friday saying their primary focus has been on educating their emergency room staff on how to quickly identify cases.

The statement also said "protocols are and have been in place for just about any scenario. This includes viral infections and providing isolation rooms and protective barrier measures for patients and employees."

Bev Fulbright, an epidemiologist with the Hamilton County Health Department, said the department is prepared to monitor and respond to Ebola, just as they do other health-related threats every day.

Fulbright said if contacted about a potential case, the department will immediately begin to trace where the person had been and who they were in contact with while showing symptoms, to prevent and contain the spread of the disease.

Sabrina Novak, emergency response coordinator for the health department, said the public must remember that the cases of Ebola treated in the U.S. have all resulted from people returning to the country after visiting Africa.

It is important to note that it is not originating here, she said.

Hamilton said educating medical staff about the disease is vitally important, but the community must also be educated.

"Ebola needs to be taken seriously, but we don't want people with unnecessary panic," Hamilton said. "There is not something supernatural about this virus compared to others. This virus is nothing that the people in Dallas can't handle and something that we here in Chattanooga cannot handle."

Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6592.

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