Here is the 8AM SITREP detailing State EOC Operations over the past 24 hours as of 0800 March 18, 2020.
20200318-State-EOC-SITREP-COVID-19Author: Steve Weigold
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COVID-19 Collection Site
Premier Health, University of Dayton to Set Up COVID-19 Collection Site
DAYTON, Ohio – March 16, 2020: Along with public health officials and other health care providers locally, statewide, and nationally, Premier Health recognizes the need to make testing for coronavirus (COVID-19) available as soon as possible. We have been actively planning to do our part to help address this critical public health need.
We are collaborating with the University of Dayton to set up a collection site in the UD Arena parking lot, 1801 Edwin C. Moses Blvd., beginning on Tuesday, March 17. This site will offer a process to collect specimens from patients who have a physician order with them for a COVID-19 test to be performed. A logistical team from the University of Dayton will be on hand to direct traffic. Security also will be present.
The hours of operation will be 10 am to 6 pm each day.
To ensure an orderly process, it is vitally important that those who have symptoms that are consistent with the COVID-19 virus first contact their family physician or primary care provider and work with their provider’s office to see if they meet certain criteria before they come to the collection site. If you do not have a physician’s order, you will not be screened.
CompuNet, in collaboration with Premier Health and Fidelity Urgent Care, will collect and forward specimens as appropriate to its reference laboratory, Quest Diagnostics, for COVID-19 testing.
Direct any questions to EMS Center of Excellence Manager Brendan Deere at bpdeer@premierhealth.com
PH-Collection-Siter-3.16.2020As personnel report for work, there will be screening station(s) set up at the designated entrance(s).
Screen all employees, students, vendors, and visitors for current illness before or immediately upon arrival to the facility.
Does the person have fever, a new cough or a change in a chronic cough, or difficulty breathing/shortness of breath.
If yes to any of the above, deny entry, and recommend that the person call their supervisor to advise they are going home with an illness, and then contact their family physician as needed.
Screening stations should have supplies for cough etiquette and hygiene including 60%-95% alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS), tissues, and no-touch receptacles for disposal.
The same process applies to persons who call-in. Employees who have signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection must not report to work. They should be told to contact their personal physician as needed.
Any staff that develop signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection while on-the-job should immediately stop work, put on a facemask, inform their supervisor, and go home to self-isolate.
Emergency medical services are a component of critical infrastructure. To protect personnel during the pandemic, the following Just in Time Standing Order (JITSO) is in effect throughout Greater Miami Valley EMS Council immediately.
To ensure effective patient care and minimize cross-contamination of EMS units and hospitals, EMS units will only allow family members or support persons to be transported with the patient when it is essential to patient care. All other requests for companion transports should be denied at this time.
- Examples of companions who must be transported in EMS units include parents or guardians of minors; historians for time-critical diagnoses such as stroke; or translators when significant language barriers exist.
- Companions who are demonstrating infectious symptoms such as fever, cough, illness should not be transported (unless being treated as an additional patient in the patient compartment).
EMS personnel should use aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) only when they would be life-saving.
- Non-rebreather masks, nebulizer treatments, and CPAP generally are to be avoided in this current outbreak
- Use the patient’s metered dose inhaler (MDI) with a spacer instead of a nebulizer when available. Bring all such equipment to the hospital with the patient.
- Remember that you can place a surgical mask on the patient over oxygen equipment throughout the call.
- When AGPs such as CPR, CPAP, nebulizers, and intubation are needed, if feasible, perform those in an open-air environment, or with vehicle windows open while in transit.
- During transport, vehicle ventilation in both compartments should be on non-recirculated mode to maximize air changes that reduce potentially infectious particles in the vehicle.
- If the vehicle has a rear exhaust fan, use it to draw air away from the cab, toward the patient-care area, and out the back end of the vehicle.
- Remove all aerosolizing devices from the patient just before entering the emergency department. Doing so will help prevent the spread of aerosolized viral particles throughout the ED.
- Always notify the hospital prior to arrival on any suspect COVID-19 case.
During this Pandemic Response, EMS personnel are to approach patients at as distance, determine potential infectious components, assess PPE needs, and have patients don surgical masks from a distance when symptoms present. EMS personnel must conserve PPE and use only as necessary. N-95 masks must be saved for aerosol producing procedures.
PPE conservation must begin now! Tomorrow is too late. There will be much more severe shortages in the future. Surgical masks, gloves, and possibly face shields or goggles are appropriate for most infectious patients. Plan to clean and reuse following CDC guidelines wherever possible. Expect expanded guidance and limitations soon. ALL PPE is coming into shortage, and this will become worse.
Exercise droplet protection when necessary with coveralls or gowns. Uniforms should be laundered frequently during the shift following the transport of potentially contagious patients. Thorough decontamination of the cab and patient compartments should be performed after each transport to protect crews and patients.
Consider using materials such as crash wrap to isolate the driver’s compartment to reduce the need for PPE for drivers.
EMS agencies should consider implementing pre- and post-shift screening for all personnel as recommended in previous guidelines.
Here are today’s updates. Couple of points on it and research that was conducted today.
- Iran did not report to the WHO today.
- Values from Italy appear to have jumped significantly, this is not the actual case rather it has been determined Italy is reporting slightly differently than some countries. They were removing their recovered patients from their reported count to the WHO.
- Spain has now crossed the 10,000 patient threshold.
For some hopeful news however:
- There is preliminary evidence coming out of Australia and the Pacific that looks promising that the anti-malarial drug Chloroquine may be helpful as both a treatment and potential prophylactic. It appears the NIH and some researchers here in the states as well as in Australia and the South Pacific are starting to test this potential.
Here is the 8AM SITREP detailing State EOC Operations over the past 24 hours as of 0800 March 17, 2020.
20200317-State-EOC-SITREP-COVID-19