1,100 Take Part in Ebola Preparedness Workshop

[box]Michelle DeFrank, left, of Orange, and Mallory Eliasson, of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., practice the use of basic personal protective equipment during Quinnipiac University’s Ebola preparedness workshop Oct. 22. Both students are junior nursing majors.[/box]

About 1,100 members of the Quinnipiac University community took part in an Ebola preparedness workshop on Oct. 22, at the Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences on the North Haven Campus.

The program, initiated and coordinated by the School of Nursing, was a collaboration with the School of Health Sciences and the  Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine. It featured the latest information about Ebola symptoms, screening, precautions, protocols and information. The program also included an overview and supervised practice in the use of basic personal protective equipment.

The workshop was open to all medicine, nursing and health science students, faculty and staff.

“Friends and family members often ask health care professionals for health-related information, so it’s important to stay current with the frequent updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Jean Lange, dean of the School of Nursing. “Our goal was to educate faculty, staff and students about the latest guidelines and to put Ebola in perspective. Ebola is not something we should have a mass panic about. We are trying to give good information that we can relay to the public while also letting students know what to do in case they encounter somebody who might be at risk for having Ebola.”

The program speakers were: Lange, Stephen Wikel, professor, senior associate dean for scholarship, and chair of the department of medical sciences; Dr. David Hill, professor of medical sciences and director of the global public health program; and Dr. Thomas Murray, associate professor of medical sciences.

Dr. Bruce Koeppen, dean of the School of Medicine and vice president of health affairs, said the program was an excellent example of interprofessional education.

“We’re sharing information so that they understand current knowledge of the Ebola virus, understand the risk factors and, most importantly, understand the process they can take to minimize their exposure,” Koeppen said. “I don’t think we would be doing our job as educators if we did not equip our students with good information.”

“We’re giving them the facts about Ebola as well as information about how we can help each other as a team to make sure we are using personal protective equipment,” said Kimberly Hartmann, interim dean of the School of Health Sciences. “Our students will get lots of practice in the hospitals. This is just one more review.”

First-year medical students Alli Georgadarellis, of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and Chris Anderson, of Clinton, practiced donning and doffing personal protective equipment including a gown, mask and gloves.

“With the emerging Ebola virus and the flu season coming, it is good to know how to personally protect yourself when you are in a healthcare setting,” Anderson said. “Obviously, you cannot take care of people if you yourself are not well enough to do so.”

Posted by Chris

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