JOINT STATEMENT FROM MOUNTAIN STATES HEALTH ALLIANCE
AND WELLMONT HEALTH SYSTEM ON EBOLA PREPAREDNESS
Both systems focused on identification of high-risk symptoms and isolation of patients who may present
Bart Hove, interim president and CEO of Wellmont Health System, and Alan Levine, president and CEO of Mountain States Health Alliance, today issued the following statement related to public concerns about the national news related to the potential spread of the Ebola virus:
“We are aware of the public concern related to the potential spread of the Ebola Virus. We share those concerns, and while we cannot control national events, Wellmont and Mountain States are working closely together to ensure we protect our employees and caregivers while also ensuring we do everything possible to identify potential cases when they may present, and isolate them while we commence appropriate treatment. At this point, there have been no cases. We certainly pray that remains the case, but we are working closely together to ensure all points of entry into the local health care system have protocols for identification of symptoms and risk factors for the potential diagnosis of Ebola. Our protocols are designed to ensure swift, immediate isolation of the patients and contact with state health officials for proper containment of the cases, should they present. We are engaging in training of our staffs to ensure that we:
• Minimize exposure to only those people critically required to treat the patients
• Maintain appropriate supervision by infection prevention experts
• Isolate potential cases from other patients
• Maintain a sanitized environment to avoid any potential for spread
Our objective is to get it right if a case should present itself and to provide comfort to our employees and caregivers that their safety is of critical importance.
Cooperation between Wellmont and Mountain States is occurring at the highest levels, with communications between the CEOs as well as our infection prevention experts. There is no greater priority to us than the safety and security of our region, and our goal is to ensure a swift and medically appropriate response should this horrible virus make its way into our region.”
