CNMI gets ready to face risk of ebola

Transcript

Northern Marianas health authorities are conducting simulated exercises in order to assess how well the CNMI can cope with any Ebola risk

The Director of Hospital and Emergency Preparedness Warren Villagomez says the move comes after the first case was reported in the US.

Mr Villagomez told Koro Vaka'uta that disease control measures and protocols are being updated at all health facilities.

WARREN VILLAGOMEZ:  We started our taskforce meeting with the Medical Director and our Public Health Medical Director and our Surveillance Strikeforce and myself.  What we are doing is that we came up with article and protocol at our critical sentinel sites which is the ER and our other critical areas that may possibly receive an encounter patient in the event.  We will be exercising our staff, our front-line staff to make sure that their skills are readily sharpened in the event that there's a reported case here in the CNMI.  We're gonna be exercising critical entry points, within the hospital getting the docs and the nurses and the staff familiarised with the symptoms in the event that we encounter a patient here in CNMI, here at CHCC.

KORO VAKA'UTA:  What triggered this programme, if you like, was it the case in the US or was it something that was always being looked at?

WV:  It's something that's always been looked at, you know, with the measles and other communicable diseases but much more the ebola, the first case in the US.  It really struck our awareness and our involvement as part of the US nation and being a territory to lean forward and make sure that we're in the same channel and tune as CDC, HHS and WHO and everybody else in the health sector.

KV:  How do you prepare?  If the bad luck struck that Ebola got to CNMI, how do you prepare?

WV:  We are preparing.  We're in close communication with our borders, our airport, our seaport and making sure that our personal protective equipments are in place and our negative pressure rooms are compliant.  It's in full running order.  All the resources and the day to day infectious control measures are adhered in the health centre here in CNMI.

KV:  The CNMI obviously has links to the US, the locality, what are the chances of it ever striking the CNMI in the near future?

WV:  We see slight, very, very minimal chance but we are elevating our threat level and concern as the entire nation is. Being a US territory, we gotta make sure that we are in the same level as everybody else.