COLUMBUS, Ohio – State health officials are asking for $800,000 to buy additional protective equipment for any staff or health care providers in Ohio who may have to care for a suspected Ebola patient or clean up after one.
How much equipment is on hand right now?
The request comes as federal and state health officials watch several people who may have come in contact with a nurse from Texas who was diagnosed with the deadly virus and trace others.
Amber Vinson, 29, visited the Akron area days before she was diagnosed.
The Ohio Department of Health is asking the state Controlling Board Monday to sign off on spending $300,000 in existing funds to buy more personal protective equipment for the department’s stockpile of protective gear to support any requests that may come from hospitals, doctors on emergency personnel treating suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola, state epidemiologist Dr. Mary DiOrio said.
The agency is also asking for up to $500,000 for cleanup and disposal of any contaminated linens and other items that may be generated by an Ebola patient at their home or a health care facility, Di Orio said.
DiOrio said Friday that Ohio has no confirmed cases of Ebola, but the department “will be ready to support local health care providers if a case is confirmed.”
“One of the state’s key missions is supporting our local health partners in the event they need additional supplies, and by adding to our already large stockpile we’ll be in as strong a position as possible to meet those needs…Up to this point our efforts have focused on northeast Ohio, but we will be ready to help any community statewide if necessary,” DiOrio said.
Hospitals have their own stores and have sources to constantly replace used equipment and the state maintains regional warehouses (above) containing additional equipment, but DiOrio says a team of health care workers treating a single Ebola patient can use up 240 sets of personal protective equipment per day, draining hospital supplies quickly, so the department wants to stand ready to fulfill requests for support that may come in.