Hospitals in U.S. facing federal regulations when treating Ebola-virus patients
by Ion Gireada on 24 September 2014
in Medical technology
hospital-ebola
The current wave of Ebola-virus patients finds U.S. hospitals unprepared to manage the waste resulting from treating patients who arrive in the country unexpectedly, creating a highly concerning situation for society, experts in biosafety stated.
Following federal guidelines involving handling of Ebola-related waste, companies specialized in waste management simply do ship away sheets and protective gear used in treating the disease. The regulations require handling of such waste in special packaging by people who received training in dealing with hazardous materials, according to biosafety experts interviewed by Reuters.
With many U.S. hospital administrators not realizing the regulatory contradiction, doctors will likely refuse to treat Ebola-virus infected patients. Compounding the situation is the 21 days incubation period following exposure to the deadly virus.
Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, famous for treating Ebola patients in the U.S. before any other hospital, ran into this problem. As the hospital was treating two U.S. citizens who contacted the virus in West Africa, Stericycle, the waste management company associated with the hospital, initially did not want to get rid of the waste.
At a recent meeting this month, Dr. Aneesh Mehta of Emory Hospital shared with his fellow doctors: “At its peak, we were up to 40 bags a day of medical waste, which took a huge tax on our waste management system”.
The hospital solved the problem by purchasing 32-gallon rubber containers from Home Depot, and stored the waste in a special area until U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention helped clear the situation, six days later.
Tags: CDC, Ebola-virus, hospital, safety, waste management
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