Ebola: A Call to Action for Healthcare Facilities

The OstermanCron healthcare team has completed countless healthcare furniture projects over the years. From lobby healthcare seating intended for hundreds of patients to doctor office furniture for small family grown practices, we thought we’d seen it all.

In October 2014, Akron, Ohio had a scare with the deadly disease we’ve all become familiar with – Ebola. As our healthcare team has a combined 78 years of experience, we weren’t afraid to admit that in all our years we haven’t equipped many facilities with hospital furniture specifically for Ebola patients. This was hitting somewhat close to home, so we wanted to know more about Akron City Hospital’s procedures for such an event. Here’s what we found.

On the patient’s arrival to the hospital, they would be sent to a decontamination room to meet fully clothed and protected healthcare staff. From there, the patient would be completely stabilized before going to “isolation rooms.”

Isolation rooms have as little healthcare furnishings as possible. There’s no carpet, and all decorative curtains and upholstered hospital furniture are removed. Walls are mostly bare except for directions clearly posted for healthcare workers’ reference.

Akron City Hospital had been preparing for an incident like this by creating very specific, thorough guidelines. They planned in every way possible, from having adequate hospital furniture to holding intensive training sessions for workers. WKYC reported the story and spoke with Dr. Scott Wilber, the Head of Emergency Medicine.

“We have been drilling basically every day, including unannounced full simulation drills where nobody knows that the patient is not a real patient, so with every drill that we do we modify our process,” explained Dr. Wilber.

In the last step, the patient’s blood samples are transported by either the National Guard or the State Highway Patrol to Columbus to be tested. As early as 12 hours later, lab results are relayed back to Akron.

Although the topic of Ebola isn’t a warm and fuzzy one, we’re all about looking at the positives. It’s good to know healthcare facilities are making bold, brave decisions in combating and deterring this disease.