East Baton Rouge EMS personnel took refresher courses at its headquarters last week detailing how to protect themselves and others in case there is an Ebola patient in Baton Rouge.
Communicable disease specialists conducted the three-hour course. The personnel then were instructed to properly put on the protective gear and take it off as if it were an emergency situation.
Emergency preparedness training is not new, but EMS Public Information Officer Mike Chustz said the Ebola scare in the U.S. prompted the
in-service.
Nearly 275 employees attended, including some from outside agencies such as local fire and police departments. Chustz said some LSUPD officers came to the course.
Some personnel have worked for years without putting on the protective gear showcased, and Chustz said it was time to refresh their memories in case of an emergency.
“People always think about suiting up for this, but when you take it off, it’s just as easy to get exposed as when you put it on,” Chustz said.
The “suiting up” process includes double gloving and taping the gloves shut to seal the suit completely — no skin can be exposed. Once completely suited, the personnel must take off the uniform with every precaution.
“Whenever we put [a suit] on them, we douse them in a little bit of chocolate syrup and make them take it off without getting it anywhere else on their body,” Chustz said.
The chocolate syrup stands in the place of infected bodily fluids the medics would be avoiding if they encountered an ill patient.
Once taken off, the suit is triple bagged, sealed tight and disposed in a biohazard box.
Although Chustz said a case of Ebola in Baton Rouge is not expected, EMS must be ready.
University employee Jason Krause was quarantined for 21 days upon his arrival from training police forces to deal with Ebola in Liberia.
Chustz said there is a series of questions medics ask potential Ebola patients, including: Have you been in contact with someone who had Ebola? Have you been to West Africa? Have you been near someone who has been to West Africa?
If EMS gets a call of a suspected Ebola patient, they will take 10 to 15 minutes to drape their ambulances and cover the inside to protect future patients in the vehicle.
The medics will arrive in their protective gear with an extra suit for the patient if he or she were conscious and able to put on the suit and mask.
Protective gear also is used when EMS is responding to patients with meningitis, hepatitis or excessive bleeding to protect the medics from exposure to deadly or contagious diseases, Chustz said.
Kinesiology senior Mary Marquette said she is not concerned for her own health, but she’s glad the EMS is preparing.
“If they’re more prepared, then we have a better chance if something does happen here in Louisiana,” Marquette said. “It’s more reassuring that we’re preparing and not putting off the issue.”
Chustz said EMS is prepared for an emergency Ebola situation. EMS has met with other agencies that would be responding to an Ebola call, including hospital staff and fire departments.
Every medic has read the Ebola guidelines and each ambulance has protective gear already on it. There is also extra gear for police officers that may respond to the Ebola call.