UC Davis, other UC med centers ready for Ebola patients

  • by Dave Jones

SCREENING PROCESS

Information from the Oct. 24 joint news release from UC and the state Department of Public Health:

All hospitals throughout the state are expected to screen, identify and isolate any patients with Ebola risk. Screening questions include:

  • “Has the patient recently been in one of the three countries with Ebola outbreaks: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea?”
  • “Has the patient been in direct contact with someone known to have Ebola or someone exposed to Ebola?”

If further testing of the patient is recommended, the hospital will contact the local health department, which will provide a more detailed epidemiological assessment. If necessary, the local health officer will then coordinate with the state Department of Public health and the Centers for Disease Control to pursue testing at CDC-approved laboratories. During that time, the patient should remain in isolation until the test results are available. If test results are positive, the state Department of Public Health will work with the hospital, local health officers and the CDC to transfer the patient as needed.

RESOURCES

Updated 1:30 p.m. today (Oct. 28): John Stobo, UC senior vice president for Health Sciences and Services, issued a statement regarding the “speak-out” events organized by the California Nurses Association union and National Nurses United:
 
“UC hospitals continue to do everything possible to ensure that our nurses, doctors and other health care workers are prepared for any eventuality related to Ebola. While we are far along in our preparations and activities, we continue to learn from each other, working with the state and other entities to ensure the safest environment possible for all working to address the challenges associated with Ebola. We welcome constructive input from nurses, physicians and other staff as to how we might improve our preparedness.”

•••

By Dave Jones

The UC Davis Medical Center is well prepared to accept patients with the Ebola virus, Chief Executive Officer Ann Madden Rice said in a memo to employees last Friday (Oct. 24). She and UC’s top health care executive also expressed their commitment to the safety of employees in dealing with the potentially fatal virus.

Rice’s memo went out the same day the UC Office of the President and the state Department of Public Health confirmed that all UC medical centers — Davis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Irvine and San Diego — are positioned to provide in-patient care for Californians who have confirmed cases of Ebola.

The hospitals, as they consider taking on such patients, will coordinate closely with state and local health officers, according to a joint news release from UC and the state Department of Public Health. The release further stated that the state is likely to add to its list of priority hospitals for Ebola patients.

UC and the state emphasized in their Oct. 24 news release that, as of that day, "there are no confirmed or suspect cases of Ebola virus disease in California." That remained true today (Oct. 28).

Rice began her memo: “Although you might not know it from the news media’s coverage of it, Ebola is very difficult to contract, and the likelihood that UC Davis Medical Center will receive a patient with Ebola is very low.

“Regardless, for the past few weeks, we have been intensely engaged in preparing and planning for the possible arrival of a patient with Ebola.”

She said the medical center has assembled a group of volunteers to serve as a dedicated, inpatient Ebola care team. “In response to our call for volunteers, we received response from more than twice the number of employees that we were seeking,” Rice wrote. “This tremendous response exemplifies the selfless, can-do spirit of UC Davis, and I cannot express how proud and grateful I am.”

John Stobo, a physician and UC's senior vice president for Health Sciences and Services, said UC Davis and the other UC medical centers “are doing what UC medical centers do": stepping up to a public health crisis.

“We are committed to addressing the health needs of this population and the public at large, as well as ensuring the safety of our health care workers,” Stobo said in UC’s joint news release with the state Department of Public Health.

Ron Chapman, state health officer and the department’s director, noted that all of UC’s medical centers specialize in complex care and operate as or staff Level 1 trauma centers. “We appreciate their leadership role in willingness to treat Ebola patients,” he said in the news release. “The administration will support these hospitals in meeting this public health need in California.”

The news release specified that UC medical centers are positioned to accept patients with confirmed cases of Ebola, but had not been identified as treatment centers for patients being transported into the United States by the U.S. State Department. Four hospitals in other parts of the country are already established as treatment centers for these repatriated U.S. citizens.

The news release further stated that the state Department of Public Health has been reviewing Ebola preparedness, screening and treatment guidance from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and will ensure that UC medical centers have the most up-to-date information on how to treat and care for Ebola patients, should confirmed cases appear in California.

Personal protective equipment

The state committed to helping the five medical centers obtain the necessary personal protective equipment, or PPE, should the hospitals have sourcing challenges. The Centers for Disease Control recently updated its PPE guidelines, aligning them with California’s stronger standards.

At the UC Davis Medical Canter, a recent, four-hour Ebola preparedness program included a demonstration on donning and removing PPE. A video, taken from a live stream of the program, is available here.

State officials also will work with the medical centers to ensure that medical waste generated from the treatment of Ebola patients is properly handled and disposed.

Rice wrote in her memo: “I realize that tension and anxiety are high among some of our staff. That is understandable, as guidelines for handling potential Ebola patients remain fluid.

“However, we are monitoring developments intently, and will continue to adjust our practices as the CDC revises its recommendations, and as we learn lessons on our own. As part of our commitment to ensuring the safety of our staff, we will keep you informed about developments as they evolve.”

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Media Resources

Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu

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