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on top of that, and protective plastic foot covers. Finally, staff would
wear 2 pairs of gloves, with the first pair taped around the wrist. "The
goal is no exposed skin," says Ms. Wilson.
Educating the staff has been important not only to train the workers
on the proper care of an Ebola-stricken patient, but also to help them
and their families alleviate fears.
"Back in the early '80s, when AIDS became very prevalent, health-
care workers were afraid to take care of patients," says Ms. Yost.
"When people have a lack of knowledge, they are very fearful."
Pre-screening patients
At the Buffalo Surgery Center, Ms. Holody says they've doubled their
pre-operative screening efforts for Ebola. A pre-op nurse asks patients
if they've traveled to or been in contact with a person from an Ebola-
infected area within the past 21 days. The admitting nurse asks
patients those same questions again when they arrive at the center.
The ASC of Spartanburg (S.C.) has also added Ebola-specific ques-
tions to its pre-op phone screening. Patients who've traveled to a
country with active Ebola can't be on the surgical schedule for 21
days after they've left that country. In addition to travel, a nurse asks
about fevers. "Even with no travel history, if patients have a fever over
100 degrees, we do not want them to come to the facility," says Mike
Pankey, RN, MBA, the administrator of the ASC of Spartanburg. "You
don't want flu in your facility either."
The Riddle Surgical Center in Media, Pa., added questions pertaining
to the signs and symptoms of Ebola as well as the patient's recent
travel, to its online patient portal where patients fill out health histo-
ries, says Kristin Thompson, RN, BSN, CNOR, RNFA, the director of
nursing. Riddle has also attached an addendum to its emergency man-
agement policy to specifically deal with Ebola. The addendum has 3
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