Ebola Hospital

I think the logistics of shipping half of West Africa here would not be feasible Davey.. BUT I do agree with a dedicated hospital here and for all cases diagnosed here to go there.. Most hospital staff are not trained in putting on and taking off full hazmat gear. The training they DO get is usually and online powerpoint presentation and a few simple test questions... NOT AT ALL ADEQUATE... as shown by the Dallas nurse who contracted the disease from caring for Duncan. If one hospital was dedicated to the illness, until it is wiped out, the staff could receive proper instruction and have the proper equipment.. So I think it's a good idea..

I have an idea how she got Ebola.. I believe it was when she took off her gloves. Nurses are trained to slide one finger under the top of the glove and pull it inside out.. then the other glove the same way, folding the first glove inside the second, both inside out. Think about it.. if the gloves are contaminated... which they would be, the finger sliding beneath the glove would give skin contact to the virus.. and then it's just a matter of getting it to your eyes or mouth, or in a tiny open cut. At least that would be my guess. It's my understanding that the viral load in a terminal Ebola patient is in the multiple billions.. much higher than AIDS.. this is why it's so contageous from body fluids.
 
It's good that some hospitals will be better prepared to deal with any patient who has Ebola-like symptoms. I still don't think this is Ebola, which is a hemorrhagic disease which causes fatal bleeding out and disintegration of the organs. Hopefully our troops in Africa will be able to help the people there get treated and get this thing under control, so they won't have to come here for treatment. http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/11/world/africa/liberia-ebola-us-mission/index.html
 

having worked in hospitals and nursing homes when we had people quartined. I can tell you we were trained. But what is needed also is limited personnel contact. To take off and put on the safety protection garb would take a lot of time andthe shortage of staff is sometimes a problem. One mistake is all it takes and nurses and Drs. are fallable, not perfect. Also what is the procedure in the ambulance to safe guard people and equipment they bring in. Are the EMS fully knowledgable when they pick up a patient they suspect has the flu. Safely transporting to another hospital, but safely transporting to the hospital with a unspecting case is a different scenerio
 
I wrote the above because when I called 911 when my husband had cut his lip and face when a mortar blade when a saw blade broke. The triage nurse arrived first and told me to calm down and evidently told the ambulance not to hurry as it took them 15 minutes to get here when it takes us 10 driving regular speed. Then she told my husband he could remove the cloth he had to his face because 'it was no longer bleeding'. The ambulance let him walk from the porch to the ambulance. When he gets to the hospital the hospital staff finds that he has cut and artery. And they have to transfer him 50 miles away in an ambulance with a clamp in his mouth as the only EMT surgeon refused to come in. Even then the sirens were not turned on. Next time I will take him myself if possible.
 
I don't think we have ever seen anything this deadly or contageous in a long while.. if ever... I don't think the standard training received in hospitals or nursing homes is anywhere near adequate... AND I have worked in both for 40 years. I've never been trained for Hazmat gear except the usually mask fit tests and the required OSHA training. What is needed is intense one on one training and practice doning and doffing the gear.. AND not just gowns, legging, booties, face shields and gloves.. but real Hazmat suits... bubble suits. No one I know has any training with the bubble suits. That's what is needed. Hopefully we won't get that many cases to warrent a dedicated hospital, but if we do.. i believe that would be the way to go.
 
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