CRMC Ready to Handle Ebola Outbreak

Ebola may have dropped off the nation's worry list, but Cheyenne Regional Medical Center (CRMC) says it's ready should their be an outbreak.

CRMC was recently designated as an Ebola assessment hospital by the Wyoming Department of Health.

"We have been working on plans, procedures and developing training sessions to be prepared to care for a patient who has suspected Ebola for up to 96 hours while the testing is being completed to either confirm or rule out the disease," said Candis Pickard, CRMC's Emergency Preparedness Coordinator. "It's our obligation to be prepared to care for patients, whether it be Ebola or another disease, and by having the assessment center designation it keeps preparedness at the forefront."

CRMC has never treated someone with Ebola, but Pickard says they want to be prepared should it happen.

"We want to be sure that we are continuing to be prepared in our emergency preparedness, that we are exercising for something even though the likelihood of someone in our community contracting the disease is very low," said Pickard. "The personal protective equipment that staff need to be wearing to care for a patient who's suspected of having Ebola is very high-level and so if we are trained and ready to care for a patient at that level then we feel we can be ready for anything."

CRMC has signed a contract to be an Ebola assessment hospital for the next five years.

"We will continue to have Ebola preparedness at our forefront for as long as we foresee," said Pickard. "We will be doing annual exercises with our emergency responders in our community to make sure that all of our processes fit well together to keep everyone as safe as possible."