Ebola healthcare provider checklist

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [2]

Overview[edit | edit source]

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), in addition to other federal, state, and local partners, aim to increase understanding and encourage the preparedness for U.S. hospitals managing patients with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The following checklist highlights some key areas health care providers to review in preparation that a person with EVD arrives for medical care. The checklist format is not intended to set forth mandatory requirements or establish national standards. In this checklist healthcare personnel (HCP) refers all persons, paid and unpaid, working in healthcare settings who have the potential for exposure to patients and/or to infectious materials, including blood and body fluids, contaminated medical supplies and equipment,andcontaminated environmental surfaces. HCP include, but are not limited to, physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists, technicians, students and trainees, laboratory personnel, contractual personnel, emergency medical services personnel,andpersons not directly involved in patient care (e.g., house-keeping, laundry).^[1]

Health Care Provider Preparedness Checklist for Ebola Virus Disease[edit | edit source]

□ Stay up to date on the latest information about risk factors, signs, symptoms, and diagnostic testing for EVD (http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html).

□ Be alert for patients with signs and symptoms of EVD or who may have traveled recently to one of the affected countries (http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/symptoms/index.html).

□ Review facility infection control policies for consistency with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Hospitalized Patients with Known or Suspected EVD in U.S. Hospitals (http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/infection-prevention-and-control-recommendations.html) to include recommendations for:

□ Assessment and triage of patients with suspected EVD

□ Patient placement

□ Visitor management and exclusion

□ Personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare personnel

□ Promptly apply standard, contact, and droplet precautions for any suspected or confirmed EVD patients before transport or upon entry to the facility, and triage using the facility plans (e.g., place in private room) for evaluation (http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/2007IP/2007isolationPrecautions.html).

□ Know how to report a potential EVD case to your facility infection control leads. reported to local, state, and federal public health authorities. A list of state epidemiologists can be found here: (http://www.cste.org/?page=StateEpi)

□ Know who to notify in your facility after an unprotected exposure (i.e., not wearing recommended PPE at the time of patient contact or through direct contact with blood or body fluids) to a suspected or confirmed EVD patient.

□ Know how and where to seek medical evaluation following an unprotected exposure.

□ Do not report to work if you become ill after an unprotected exposure (i.e. not wearing recommended PPE at the time of patient contact or through direct contact to blood or body fluids) to a patient with EVD.

References[edit | edit source]

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