[MCOH-EH] pre-assignment medical clearance for Ebola caregivers

[Swift, Melanie]

Warner, have you added any medical clearance requirements over/above the PAPR medical clearance itself?
In other words, how are you handling the person who wants to be on the Ebola team but has an insulin pump, or takes immune suppressants, or is pregnant?

We’ve drafted an additional set of questions to add to the OSHA PAPR questionnaire to ask about immunosuppression, bleeding disorders, medication that needs to be tended to frequently, devices such as insulin pumps, etc. Then pre-donning there is a brief health check for any acute situations that would preclude being in the PPE for 2 hours – current urinary frequency/urgency, active skin issues, etc. Issue of even having a very runny nose, you don’t want to have that in a PAPR for 2 hours!

Interested in what others are doing as well.

Melanie Swift, MD
Director, Vanderbilt Occupational Health Clinic
http://occupationalhealth.vanderbilt.edu

From: Hudson, T. Warner [mailto:TWHudson at mednet.ucla.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2014 6:18 PM
To: Swift, Melanie
Subject: FW: Ebola



T. Warner Hudson, MD FACOEM, FAAFP
Medical Director, Occupational and Employee Health
UCLA Health System and Campus
Office 310.825.9146
Fax 310.206.4585
Pager 800.233.7231  ID 27132
E-mail twhudson at mednet.ucla.edu<mailto:twhudson at mednet.ucla.edu>
Website www.ohs.uclahealth.org<http://www.ohs.uclahealth.org>

From: Hudson, T. Warner
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2014 1:05 PM
To: 'Adamo, Philip'
Subject: Ebola



T. Warner Hudson, MD FACOEM, FAAFP
Medical Director, Occupational and Employee Health
UCLA Health System and Campus
Office 310.825.9146
Fax 310.206.4585
Pager 800.233.7231  ID 27132
E-mail twhudson at mednet.ucla.edu<mailto:twhudson at mednet.ucla.edu>
Website www.ohs.uclahealth.org<http://www.ohs.uclahealth.org>
Phil – Here is what we are using. I wrote muck of the protocol from Napolitano and the word document. The 2 pdfs are vetted and the Word doc I’ve sent into our ebola exec team I’m on as we are the designated ebola hospital for LA county and so it’s not final but close.  Just did not want to send all this to the whole MCOH group.


UCLA Health System and Ebola Preparations

Dear Faculty and Staff Members,

We wanted to provide you with an update concerning the Ebola outbreak and what UCLA Health is doing to respond and prepare.

What we know:

  *   There is a current outbreak of Ebola, a virulent infectious disease, in Western Africa
  *   There is one known case in Texas
  *   Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the body fluids of infected patients.

What we are doing:
•         Meeting weekly with a multidisciplinary team to ensure continued vigilance and communication.
•         Working closely with CA Dept of Public Health, LA County Dept of Public Health, and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to maintain situational awareness and support
•         Reviewing and updating emerging infectious disease plans and procedures
•         Conducted two executive tabletop exercises to stimulate awareness of emerging infectious diseases
•         Increasing par levels of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and pre deploying some additional PPE to our emergency departments
•         Posting signage in emergency patient care areas to assist with screening for travel/symptomatology related to Ebola
•         Reviewing initial patient history and triage processes with clinicians to highlight surveillance
•         Modifying the EHR to create better transparencies for travel history, risk factors/symptoms related to the disease
•         Conducting upcoming patient tracer exercises to test the plan/processes
•         Working with clinical staff to develop an Ebola Response Team consisting of physicians and nurses that could be activated if necessary

What do we ask you to do:

  *   Reassure patients and visitors of their safety
  *   Continue to provide exceptional care to your patients each day
  *   Utilize appropriate PPE for all patient related contacts
  *   Use good hand hygiene by washing your hand and using hand sanitizer as indicated

When will you hear from us again / where can you get more information:

  *   We will provide more information via email or departmental huddles as the situation changes
  *   Go to http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/ to find out the latest information about the disease.



T. Warner Hudson, MD FACOEM, FAAFP
Medical Director, Occupational and Employee Health
UCLA Health System and Campus
Office 310.825.9146
Fax 310.206.4585
Pager 800.233.7231  ID 27132
E-mail twhudson at mednet.ucla.edu<mailto:twhudson at mednet.ucla.edu>
Website www.ohs.uclahealth.org<http://www.ohs.uclahealth.org>


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