(WKYT) – University of Kentucky Hospital is better prepared to deal with cases that present a high contagious risk to staff and other patients.
UK Chandler Hospital staff and Lexington first responders participated in a four-hour simulation on Wednesday where they practiced handling a patient with a highly infectious disease like Ebola, from arrival to treatment inside sealed-off rooms.
Crews worked through putting on and taking off protective equipment, transporting the patient to an isolated room, and communicating without spreading the disease.
Dr. Nicholas Van Sickels, infection prevention and control medical director at UK Hospital, said the simulation helped them pinpoint areas that need fine-tuning.
“Even today in our simulation, we found multiple places where we could do better and make refinements to be safer for our staff and for the patients in general, so it’s really important to prepare; otherwise, you just end up being very clumsy, and that puts people at risk,” Van Sickels said.
Federal grant and national push
At the beginning of this year, the hospital received a $500,000 federal grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to build these skills and the proper infrastructure.
“Given how deadly these infections are, there’s a big push in the U.S. to have more centers able to care for patients with these infections,” Van Sickels said.
Staff is working to build a Level 2 facility that can care for patients through the full course of their treatment. Before this, the UK would transfer patients to more specialized hospitals, such as Emory University or the University of North Carolina.
Experts from both institutions were on site, observing the drill, answering questions, and providing feedback to help the UK become the only site in Kentucky trained to handle these cases.
“We are going to be not only a site that takes care of patients, but also a referral site for areas around us,” Van Sickels said.
UK Hospital staff hope to be formally designated as a level 2 special pathogen treatment center by this summer.