Healthcare

Biography

Biography: Gregory Sugalski

Abstract

Ebola virus disease (EVD) has been the subject of recent attention due to the current outbreak in West Africa, as well as the appearance of a number of cases within the United States. The presence of EVD patients in the United States required health care systems to prepare for the identification and management of these patients. The presence of confirmed EVD patients in the United States identified an urgent need for planning and preparation throughout the health care sector. The challenge for most health care systems is the identification and management of EVD cases presenting unidentified and unannounced. To evaluate patients with recent travel to Ebola-affected countries, it was essential to provide the highest degree of safety while minimizing unnecessary exposure to other patients and staff. It was also critical to have the least possible effect on normal workflow and operations throughout the facility. In response, our Emergency Department (ED) used a unique approach to the screening and care of these patients in a location that was detached from the hospital. Among the challenges in the development of the detached location was the need to create a suitable treatment area with the requisite isolation capabilities. Hospital leadership believed a location remote from the main ED would be the least disruptive to the daily functions of the hospital. This presentation discusses the use of mobile containment units (MCUs) in an extended treatment area (ETA) as a novel approach to isolation and screening of potential EVD patients.