The Paulding County Hospital head of staff along with CEO Ron Goedde met with the West Bend News to discuss the possible outbreak of the Coronavirus in Northwest Ohio.
As of yet there has been no confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus in Paulding County, but that does not mean that Paulding County Hospital is not taking precautions. They are training all staff with over the phone screening procedures for the safety of everyone. If you feel you may have the virus, you should call the hospital BEFORE going as their personnel are trained to help you understand if you could be infected or if you may have something else. Call your doctor or the service you are trying to reach. If you don’t have an appointment call 419-399-4080 for instructions.
The first thing that Paulding County Hospital wants you to know is how to educate yourself. Information from the World Health Organization and the CDC on how to help yourself during this time:
The COVID-19 is a variant of Coronavirus and is shaped like the sun’s corona giving its name.
What is Coronavirus and COVID-19? Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19? The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough. Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell. Most people (about 80%) recover from the disease without needing special treatment. Around 1 out of every 6 people who gets COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness. People with fever, cough and difficulty breathing should seek medical attention.
How does it spread? The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. People can also catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who coughs out or exhales droplets. This is why it is important to stay more than 1 meter (3 feet) away from a person who is sick. It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment).
If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with simple disinfectant to kill the virus and protect yourself and others. Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose.
What can I do to protect myself and others? Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Maintain at least 3 feet distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately. Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority. Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of the county health department.
Is it safe to receive packages? Yes. The likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low and the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package that has been moved, travelled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low.
Paulding County Hospital has setup sanitation stations at every entrance that provides masks and sanitizer for your hands. PCH is limiting the number of visitors to no children under 18 years of age and no one with any flu-like symptoms. This could be restricted further if necessary to protect the patients and staff of the hospital.
Sanitation training continues similar to other infectious diseases.
The biggest challenge the hospital is facing is similar to the public and that is getting necessary sanitation supplies. Currently the hospital has everything it needs to meet the patients’ needs and cleanliness of the facility but as the virus spreads throughout the country supplies could be limited in the distribution chain according to the supplier.
Flu symptoms are very similar and can be easily mis-identified. With new technology Paulding County Hospital has increased their detection of influenza and within an hour can give a positive or negative identification. The new equipment can detect up to 20 different pathogens with a 95% accuracy. If flu infection comes back negative then PCH will extend their tests by sending swabs to the Ohio Department of Health and would have the results back within 24-48 hours. There are plenty of test kits available for People Under Investigation (PUI) but the kits must be sent to the state testing sites. Also, people will have to have 3 tests of at least 24 hours apart as the infection may not be detected yet.
People are reminded that Influenza is also very dangerous and very similar and that flu shots are available at the hospital, health department and some area pharmacies.
Ed Bohn, Paulding County EMA Director, said the EMS department heads are also trained to keep ambulances disinfected regularly. Training is an ongoing process and all EMS personnel are trained to handle people with infectious diseases and that includes body bags, ventilators, proper sanitization techniques.
Governor DeWine shared ODH statement, “The potential for misinformation during times of high-profile global events and public health threats is high. Verify info before trusting. Use trusted sources like CDC; Ohio Department of Health; Governor Mike DeWine; and your local health departments.’
In summary, stay calm and don’t panic, keep good hygiene and cleanliness, eat healthy and drink lots of water.
