Recently, Miller & Martin Workplace Safety Practice Group provided information regarding the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) launch of its new web page designed to assist employers with their efforts to inform and protect their workers from the Ebola virus. Along those same lines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued additional guidance to healthcare employers designed to provide guidance regarding proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) when potentially encountering the deadly virus.
The CDC's guidance web page, includes information related to: (1) training of healthcare workers on protocols and procedures for handling patients who may be infected with the virus; and (2) proper donning and doffing protocols related to PPE. Moreover, at the administrative level, the CDC provides guidelines to healthcare facilities on how best to institute a comprehensive infection prevention management system.
The Ebola virus may be transmitted from one individual to another if they come in contact with body fluids from an infected person or contaminated objects from an infected person. Thus far, deadly Ebola outbreaks have been confirmed in eight West African countries this year, and two Americans have been diagnosed with the virus within the United States.
Employers should take proactive steps to recognize the risks associated with the virus, and to review the information on both OSHA's and the CDC's web sites.
