The screening protocols seek to ensure that first responders don appropriate protective equipment.
(MCT) — Though there have been no cases of Ebola in California, San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management took a precautionary step and enacted new Ebola-specific screening protocols for the city’s 911 dispatchers.
The screening protocols, issued Thursday, seek to ensure that first responders don appropriate protective equipment. The changes come as Bay Area hospitals are training their nurses in how to handle Ebola patients, and as state public health officials are calling for screenings at international airports.
“What we’re doing here is an overabundance of caution,” said Anne Kronenberg, executive director of the Department of Emergency Management. “We want to make sure that the residents of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area know that we’re just taking the precautions necessary to make sure people don’t get sick.”
The protocol for dispatchers includes asking callers if they have traveled to Liberia, Guinea or Sierra Leone within 21 days and if they have displayed any of the symptoms of the disease. Symptoms include fever, chills, unusual sweats, sore throat, coughing, stomach pain and diarrhea, and vomiting or bloody discharge from the mouth or nose.
Only if a caller answers yes to any of these questions — or if the caller has had higher-risk exposure to Ebola — will dispatchers alert first responders, who can put on protective equipment before contacting the caller.
The Ebola virus is transmitted only by direct exposure to a symptomatic person’s body fluids, meaning health care providers and first responders are more likely to be exposed to the virus.
Kronenberg said the chances of Ebola reaching the Bay Area are slim.
“Should people be worried?” Kronenberg said. “No. Should people be careful and prepared? Yes.”
©2014 the San Francisco Chronicle. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
The screening protocols, issued Thursday, seek to ensure that first responders don appropriate protective equipment. The changes come as Bay Area hospitals are training their nurses in how to handle Ebola patients, and as state public health officials are calling for screenings at international airports.
“What we’re doing here is an overabundance of caution,” said Anne Kronenberg, executive director of the Department of Emergency Management. “We want to make sure that the residents of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area know that we’re just taking the precautions necessary to make sure people don’t get sick.”
The protocol for dispatchers includes asking callers if they have traveled to Liberia, Guinea or Sierra Leone within 21 days and if they have displayed any of the symptoms of the disease. Symptoms include fever, chills, unusual sweats, sore throat, coughing, stomach pain and diarrhea, and vomiting or bloody discharge from the mouth or nose.
Only if a caller answers yes to any of these questions — or if the caller has had higher-risk exposure to Ebola — will dispatchers alert first responders, who can put on protective equipment before contacting the caller.
The Ebola virus is transmitted only by direct exposure to a symptomatic person’s body fluids, meaning health care providers and first responders are more likely to be exposed to the virus.
Kronenberg said the chances of Ebola reaching the Bay Area are slim.
“Should people be worried?” Kronenberg said. “No. Should people be careful and prepared? Yes.”
©2014 the San Francisco Chronicle. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
www.emergencymgmt.com
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