OMH and other area hospitals well prepared to deal with Ebola

HT - Lorene Parshall// Laura Sincock, OMH director of emergency services, and Cathy Schalau, OMH infection prevention coordinator, are integral members of the team that ensures the hospital will be well prepared in the unlikely event of a local case of Ebola.

Lorene Parshall (989) 732-1111lparshall@gaylordheraldtimes.com

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — Area health officials want you to know they're prepared when it comes to the spread of infectious viruses, including Ebola.

Recently, a doctor who treated patients in Guinea became the first Ebola case diagnosed in New York City and the fourth diagnosed in the United States.

Otsego Memorial Hospital (OMH) has gone above and beyond the call of duty as far as Ebola preparedness, according to Christy Perdue, OMH foundation and marketing director. 

“In any situation like Ebola, the hospital has to be prepared,” Perdue said. "We don't know, but we anticipate the risk to be low. However, the preparation efforts allow us to to be prepared for whatever might come. OMH is going above CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendations at this point, and we're providing information and personal protective equipment and supplies to all of our outlying medical clinics."

Perdue said supplying all the clinics is important because the point of entry for the infection could occur anywhere in the system. She said an OMH Ebola committee meets daily to review and implement CDC and Michigan Department of Health recommendations and guidelines. [...]

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