Local Hospital Staff Demonstrate New Ebola Protocol
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) --- To start the week off, doctors and nurses at Jackson Memorial Hospital demonstrated new protocol on how to properly treat a person with the Ebola virus.
The biggest emphasis of the demonstration was how to properly put on and take off the gear The new protocols were set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The hospital has been training staff on the proper use of the protective gear.
Click here to watch Natalia Zea's report.
It is a 40-minute process straight out of the movie Outbreak but nurses at Jackson said they want to follow the federal guidelines verbatim to protect those on the front lines.
The slow, methodical step by step process is the only way Nurses Union President Martha Baker feels her members will be safe, should a patient infected with ebola come to Jackson for treatment.
"It's really something all nurses do in this country is run to help and not run away from something like an Ebola scare," said Baker.
The process involves a two-person team. One buddy does the checking and assisting, helping the other since one slip up could lead to infection. It starts with scrubs, a cap, and a respirator placed over the mouth and nose.All the equipment is carefully checked for tears or holes including a full bodysuit and knee high booties over that.
The new guidelines also require using hand sanitizer several times throughout the suit up process.
Unlike the protocol apparently used in the Dallas Hospital where the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. was treated, the nurses' necks are entirely covered with a hood fastened extra securely with duct tape. Then they place a plastic face shield. The buddy checks them over and they are ready to go.
"It's very enhanced so I would say two things, the triple gloving and every body surface covered and an observer partner helping you to make sure there's no violation," said Baker.
It's a similar process to remove the gear. This time bleach wipes are used instead of sanitizer to disinfect, wipe, and clean off. The buddy also disinfects.
In the end, all the garments go into a red hazmat bag that are put into a box and ultimately incinerated.
The demonstration comes just days after Florida Governor Rick Scott issued an order mandating health monitoring for anyone coming back from an Ebola affected area.
This means travelers coming back from a place designated as an Ebola affected area by CDC will now have to be monitored twice daily for 21 days.
READ: Gov. Scott Issues Order Over Ebola Monitoring
On Saturday, Scott said they were in the process of trying to make four people who returned to Florida be under the health evaluation.
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