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Kelowna  

KGH ready for Ebola

Kelowna general hospital is one of five hospitals designated to assess people at risk of having Ebola and to treat confirmed cases.

British Columbia's health minister, Terry Lake, says a task force reviewed the province's protocols to respond in the unlikely event that the Ebola virus arrives in BC, and decided that five regional centres should care for such patients.

The hospitals are: Surrey Memorial, Kelowna General, Royal Jubilee Hospital Victoria, University Hospital of Northern BC in Prince George and BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver, which would deal with all paediatric cases.

Lake says the sites will provide training for health-care workers on the procedures they should follow to treat suspected or confirmed cases.

He says emergency room staff and any workers who could come in contact with Ebola patients at all other health-care facilities will also be trained to receive, isolate and triage people who may have symptoms.

Lake says the Public Health Agency of Canada has recommended a buddy system so health-care workers can observe each other donning and doffing personal protective equipment to ensure protocols are followed.


Do you work at the hospital? Let us know your thoughts on the hospital's readiness. Send information  to [email protected].



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