The Cincinnati Health Department like many medical facilities across the nation is closely monitoring the Ebola outbreak.
Director for Public Health Preparedness Dr. Steven Englender addressed a city council committee Tuesday. He said they want to make sure, in the rare situation of a local Ebola the case, the patient is not sent home from a hospital as was the case in Dallas.
“This Friday, the Health Council will be bringing together their disaster council with all of the hospitals,” Englender said. “Specifically to discuss information out as well as information within to make sure that we learn from the mistakes of others and don’t repeat them.”
Englender says as a precaution 911 call takers are now asking questions related to Ebola so first responders can be prepared if necessary.
Those questions include: does this involve a fever, or diarrhea, or a cough; and have you traveled in the last 21 days, and where have you traveled.
“This is so our EMS crews can know, do they need a higher level of protection,” Englender said.
The local health department said the chances are low that a person travelling from West Africa, where Ebola is rampant, would be coming through the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
