Woonsocket: possible Ebola - Negative

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   BREAKING: Landmark ER shut down for investigation of possible Ebola

December 5, 2014

WOONSOCKET — Landmark Medical Center’s emergency room was locked down late Friday evening, with hospital officials and R.I. Department of Health personnel investigating a possible Ebola case, multiple sources at the scene told The Call.
Neither medical nor public safety officials would comment on the situation as of early this morning. Hospital officials indicated there would be information released sometime today.
An unidentified man drove to the hospital Friday evening reporting flu-like symptoms similar to those in Ebola patients, sources said. City emergency personnel responded to the hospital, with police and firefighters cordoning off the emergency room entrance, off Cass Avenue, with crime scene tape.
Traffic was blocked on Cass Avenue for a period, and rescue personnel were still at the scene, truck engines running, past midnight.
A car could be seen parked at the emergency room’s patient entrance.
DOH personnel were attempting to determine if the patient had been infected with Ebola, and crews in protective suits were cleaning and scrubbing the area, sources said.
Last month, Landmark conducted an extensive Ebola response drill for Woonsocket emergency personnel and rescue units from other municipalities through the Blackstone Valley.
This story will be updated as more details are available.
http://www.woonsocketcall.com/node/12496 
http://www.woonsocketcall.com/node/12496

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Schrödinger's Cat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Adviser Group Joined: September 27 2014 Location: Northwest Status: Offline Points: 1850	Post Options Post Reply Quote Schrödinger's Cat Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Woonsocket: possible Ebola - Negative Posted: December 06 2014 at 4:44am
	BREAKING: Landmark ER shut down for investigation of possible Ebola December 5, 2014 WOONSOCKET — Landmark Medical Center’s emergency room was locked down late Friday evening, with hospital officials and R.I. Department of Health personnel investigating a possible Ebola case, multiple sources at the scene told The Call. Neither medical nor public safety officials would comment on the situation as of early this morning. Hospital officials indicated there would be information released sometime today. An unidentified man drove to the hospital Friday evening reporting flu-like symptoms similar to those in Ebola patients, sources said. City emergency personnel responded to the hospital, with police and firefighters cordoning off the emergency room entrance, off Cass Avenue, with crime scene tape. Traffic was blocked on Cass Avenue for a period, and rescue personnel were still at the scene, truck engines running, past midnight. A car could be seen parked at the emergency room’s patient entrance. DOH personnel were attempting to determine if the patient had been infected with Ebola, and crews in protective suits were cleaning and scrubbing the area, sources said. Last month, Landmark conducted an extensive Ebola response drill for Woonsocket emergency personnel and rescue units from other municipalities through the Blackstone Valley. This story will be updated as more details are available. http://www.woonsocketcall.com/node/12496 http://www.woonsocketcall.com/node/12496

Tinijocaro Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Tinijocaro Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 06 2014 at 5:41am
	Ooh, my parents are from Woonsocket. I have lots of family still living there.

Schrödinger's Cat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Adviser Group Joined: September 27 2014 Location: Northwest Status: Offline Points: 1850	Post Options Post Reply Quote Schrödinger's Cat Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 06 2014 at 8:29am
	Woonsocket is a nice town, did you grow up there? If this case is like nearly ALL the others, I'm sure it's only malaria

jacksdad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Executive Admin Joined: September 08 2007 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 47251	Post Options Post Reply Quote jacksdad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 06 2014 at 9:00am
	I agree - without confirmation, the odds are that it's probably something else and we're just seeing an abundance of caution.
	"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.

Schrödinger's Cat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Adviser Group Joined: September 27 2014 Location: Northwest Status: Offline Points: 1850	Post Options Post Reply Quote Schrödinger's Cat Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 06 2014 at 9:29am
	WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI) – Landmark Medical Center’s emergency room was cordoned off by police late Friday night while a patient was evaluated for Ebola-like symptoms. Police and fire department vehicles blocked access to the hospital with crime scene tape and portable barriers, and witnesses said that patients were divered to other hospitals. Woonsocket police said early Saturday morning night that the emergency room was kept on lockdown past midnight. A spokesperson for Governor Lincoln Chafee said that a patient who was being monitored after returning from a trip to West Africa 17 days ago was taken to the hospital for evaluation of “mild symptoms.” “The evaluation suggested no presence of any significant disease,” Chafee’s spokesperson wrote in a news release, and the patient was sent home after the evaluation. Everyone returning to Rhode Island from West Africa is monitored by the Department of Health for 21 days, which is the incubation period for the Ebola virus.

Schrödinger's Cat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Adviser Group Joined: September 27 2014 Location: Northwest Status: Offline Points: 1850	Post Options Post Reply Quote Schrödinger's Cat Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 06 2014 at 4:37pm
	http://www.woonsocketcall.com/node/12498 ......The unidentified patient's car is towed away from the Landmark Medical Center's emergency room entrance early this morning. The Woonsocket hospital's emergency room was locked down while the patient underwent tests for Ebola, which proved negative. (Call Photo/Joseph B. Nadeau) WOONSOCKET — A Rhode Islander returning from West Africa who was evaluated at Landmark Medical Center Friday night did not have Ebola, according to a R.I. Department of Health spokesperson. The patient, who is part of the routine monitoring program established by the Centers for Disease Control and administered by the health department, had returned from West Africa about two weeks ago. The patient had a “very mild increase in temperature” and out of “an abundance of caution,” he traveled to Landmark Medical Center to be evaluated, according to Christina Batastini, the health department’s public information officer. During this time, the hospital activated its “internal disaster response,” Batastini said, which is part of the hospital's planning for such an evaluation. This protocol means that ambulance travel was restricted. However the hospital was accepting walk-in business and visitors, she noted. The man’s vehicle, a blue Chevy Camaro, could be seen parked in the driveway off Cass Avenue used by rescue vehicles when unloading patients at the ER just before 10 p.m. and was cordoned off with traffic horses and police tape set up by the Woonsocket Police officers at the scene. Traffic on Cass Avenue was also stopped for a time during the efforts to secure the ER entrance. The vehicle was moved from the entrance at about 12:30 p.m., while police and hospital security continued to keep the area blocked off to the public. The responding city emergency vehicles, including Engine 2 and Rescue 3, also remained at the location, parked in the plaza parking lot across Cass from the ER. Last month, Landmark conducted an extensive Ebola response drill for Woonsocket emergency personnel and rescue units from other municipalities through the Blackstone Valley. Batastini said of the CDC and health department's program, “This is actually a success story. It shows how well the system is working.” She explained the monitoring program, indicating that the CDC sends the health department the names of travelers from West Africa who are coming to Rhode Island. As part of the program, these travelers are monitored for 21 days, and if they are asymptomatic for that period, their names are removed from the list. In this instance, the traveler was only a few days away from his 21st day, but he suffered from a “slight rise in temperature,” which is why he went to the hospital.......