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Dallas Ebola Case Could Prompt Revisions In State Recommendations

The Kentucky Department for Public Health has put together an Ebola preparedness package for the state’s healthcare facilities.

But changes to the guidelines could be coming soon.

The packet is designed to help hospitals, public health agencies, and other coalitions bring their current policies in line with the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dick Bartlett, emergency preparedness and trauma coordinator with the Kentucky Hospital Association, briefed two top state Senate leaders last week on the protocols, but he warns the contents could change as the situation unfolds in Texas.

"As we look at how this nurse down in Dallas became infected, they're still studying that scenario," he says. "They're trying to look at all the things she did, because reportedly she had used all the right personal protective garb. She supposedly had followed all the right procedures and yet somehow she was still contaminated."

Bartlett says he expects the results of the findings in Texas will likely lead to some fine-tuning of protocols later this week or early next week. And those tweaks would then be incorporated into Kentucky plans.

"We may see some fine-tuning, maybe some increased recommendations for training on how to take the personal protective equipment off," he says.

Many of the protocols were originally created during the 2001 anthrax scare and have since been revised to address the threat presented by Ebola.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.
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