In Oct. 2014 Forsyth Medical Center was designated as one of two Ebola treatment centers in the Novant Health Stystem in North Carolina. They have also designated Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, N.C., and Prince William Medical Center in Virginia.
If someone being treated within the Novant System in North Carolina is diagnosed with Ebola, they could be placed in Winston-Salem.
So far, there have been no cases or reported cases of the virus in North Carolina. But the state wants to be prepared should cases be reported or confirmed.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth Medical Center
“The CDC and local health departments have reached out to all medical providers to provide education and guidelines on how to recognize potential cases and to implement infection control procedures to minimize the risk of transmission of this virus to others in the facility,” Joanna Clinch, clinical director of Wake Forest Student Health, said.
Many medical centers across the country have been similarly designated by their health systems. The designation means that the center will be equipped to handle a potential outbreak of the disease.
They would have processes in place to allow quick detection and isolation of suspected cases, adequate facilities to treat a person with Ebola, intense training for staff to reduce the chance that a staff member would contract the disease and protocol to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to the rest of the hospital.
Though no cases of Ebola have been reported or confirmed in North Carolina, Wake Forest has taken steps to ensure that they are prepared in the event that a case occurs in Forsyth county.
“The likelihood that an individual will come to our campus with any risk for Ebola is extremely low. I should point out that of the five cases in the U.S., all the individuals had significant exposure with someone known to have the Ebola infection and four of the five were health care workers who were working with Ebola patients,” said Cecil Price, Director of Student Health.
“The exceedingly low risk notwithstanding, we are continuing to plan and prepare in case there is a case on campus. I’m confident that we will be ready if this happens,” Price added
At the beginning of the semester, Student Health requested that all students who showed any signs of any infection report their travel history in the past six months.
“This allows us not only to screen for Ebola, but also allows us to screen for other travel related infections and illnesses,” said Price.
There is currently a ban for university-sponsored travel to Guinea, Sierra Leone or Liberia. The travel risks through the end of next semester will be evaluated by Student Health Services and the Center for Global Programs and Studies.
Wake Forest and other universities in Winston-Salem have been meeting weekly with the Forsyth County Department of Public Health to receive continuous updates on the status of Ebola in other parts of the country
Additionally, Student Health has remained in consistent dialogue with Wake Forest Baptist Health and the infectious disease specialists there, as well as members of the Wake Forest crisis management team to discuss preliminary preparations for a case of Ebola on campus, Clinch explained.
“This is similar to what occurred in Atlanta when Emory Medical Center treated the Ebola case. General members of the community were not at risk,” said Clinch.
Protocol has been established that involves isolating anyone with a potential case on campus in a temporary isolation room and working with Forsyth County EMTs to transfer the individual to one of the medical centers designated to take care of Ebola cases. Student Health staff have also been trained in how to prevent exposure of the virus to themselves or to others, and personal protective equipment has been provided, as well as training in how to put on and take off the equipment safely.
The important thing to remember is that these preparations are for a worst case scenario, an outbreak that will not, in all likelihood, ever come near Wake Forest.
“This illness is frightening to people, given the high mortality rate and all of the media coverage,” said Clinch. “It is important to remember, though, that we have treated patients in the U.S. with Ebola and the communities in which these medical centers reside have been safe.”