Dive Brief:
- Just days before a Nebraska hospital confirmed the Ebola-related death of 44-year-old surgeon Martin Salia, the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced new requirements for the state's acute care hospitals in regards to Ebola.
- Under the new Cal/Osha regulations issued Nov. 14, hospitals must provide workers with hazardous material suits, respirators and isolation rooms, and conduct extensive training to those working with patients suspected of having the virus. The rules are mandatory with civil penalties for hospitals that fail to comply.
- The regulations, which go beyond voluntary guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), were unveiled following a worldwide protest Thursday and a two-day strike by thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses who called for hospitals to provide stronger protections for healthcare workers treating Ebola patients.
Dive Insight:
To date, more than 5,000 people have died of Ebola worldwide in the most recent epidemic. Of those, an estimated 200 to 300 are healthcare workers. While California hospitals bear a big responsibility in complying with these hefty new regulations, the threat to the safety of the hospital's workers and to the public image of the hospital should the virus spread is extremely high.
CDC reports released on Friday on Ebola, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, reveal some preliminary signs of progress in containing the virus, but the need for swift, sustained containment efforts by hospitals cannot be stressed enough.