County in Penn. to Screen EMS Calls for Possible Ebola Exposure

Oct. 17--Berks County 9-1-1 dispatchers Thursday began asking people calling for medical help the two questions already heard in doctors' offices and hospital emergency rooms:

"Do you have a fever?"

"Have you traveled or been close to someone who has traveled to western Africa in the last 21 days?"

Fever is among the early symptoms of the Ebola virus. Three cases have been reported in Texas. The majority of cases have been in three western African countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

County Commissioner Chairman Christian Y. Leinbach ended Thursday's weekly meeting by reading an announcement released earlier in the day by Brian A. Gottschall, director of the Berks Department of Emergency Services, alerting the public to the new protocol being used by dispatchers.

The questions are intended to enable first responders to be aware of Ebola-related risks.

Dispatchers already screen callers for infectious respiratory illnesses.

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The questions are in compliance with recommendations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Gottschall said in the statement.

"The intent of these questions is to provide advance notice to emergency responders that additional personal protective clothing, beyond that normally worn when responding to an EMS call, may be required before patient contact is made," Gottschall said. "It also ensures that personnel in the emergency care unit of the hospital who will be receiving the patient can be given ample notice to prepare for the patient's arrival."

Officials at Reading Health System and St. Joseph Medical Center have said they are prepared to treat Ebola cases.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan, a Delaware County Republican who represents parts of eastern Berks, on Thursday called for a temporary ban on travel to and from countries suffering from the Ebola epidemic.

"It's a common-sense step to protect the American people," Meehan said.

Meehan also said that clear federal health protocols are not in place and available to Pennsylvania health care workers and others.

"I have heard first-hand accounts in southeast Pennsylvania over confusion about how to treat patients reporting travel in western Africa and presenting themselves for care," Meehan said. "This is unacceptable."

Contact Dan Kelly: 610-371-5040 or dkelly@readingeagle.com.

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