As Ebola cases continue to rise worldwide and in the US, ADHS is redoubling our efforts to ensure Arizona’s healthcare and public health systems are prepared to respond to potential Ebola cases. Right now, our top priorities are ensuring the rapid identification and prompt isolation of cases in order to reduce disease spread to healthcare workers and close contacts of the patient. We have been providing resources and guidance to healthcare and public health partners to underscore the importance of asking for a 21-day travel history for any patients who report a fever or other Ebola symptoms. We’ve also emphasized the importance of immediate isolation of any suspect cases with healthcare workers implementing standard, contact, and droplet precautions while risk assessment and test results are pending. These are critical steps in stopping the transmission of Ebola to other people.
In the coming days, we will be releasing toolkits to support healthcare facilities, healthcare providers, and first responders in assessing and improving their readiness to respond to an Ebola case. The toolkits will synthesize existing CDC resources into those most relevant for the audience and situation. A wealth of federal resources for Ebola preparedness and response are available on CDC’s Ebola website to enhance the overall preparedness of public health and healthcare systems.
Are there are any type of toolkits being prepared for school nurse offices?