EMS strategies for Ebola with Dr. Alex Isakov

Identify, isolate, and inform: The current situation on COVID, Ebola and Monkeypox

October 25, 2022 12:00 PM •

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This episode of EMS One-Stop with Rob Lawrence is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.

In this edition of EMS One-Stop, Host Rob Lawrence welcomes Dr. Alex Isakov, executive director of Emory’s Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) and professor of emergency medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Isakov also leads the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) EMS workgroup developing education and resources to improve EMS and community disaster resilience.

Rob and Dr. Isakov discuss the current Ugandan Ebola outbreak and the implications and risk of spread to the U.S.

On September 20, 2022, Uganda announced that it had an outbreak of Ebola virus with the Sudan strain, which has now spread amongst five of its administrative districts. The case and death count, as of October 12, 2022, was 74 total cases (54 confirmed) and 39 deaths (19 confirmed). As a result, the U.S. has issued a Health Advisory Network (HAN) Travel Alert Level 2 and HAN Health Advisory for healthcare workers to be aware of the Ebola outbreak in Uganda, monitor for symptoms consistent with Ebola, and utilize best practices if there are any signs that someone might be experiencing an illness consistent with it.

The tactics to identify, isolate, and inform are discussed as well as reminder about PPE requirements. Rob and Dr. Isakov also conduct an additional roundup on the current situation on COVID and Monkeypox.

Additional EMS resources

CDC Coronavirus (COVID-19) EMS One-Stop With Rob Lawrence Ebola Fitness & Health Health Care Infectious Diseases Patient Safety Podcasts Public Health Safety

Rob Lawrence

Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. He is currently the director of strategic implementation for PRO EMS and its educational arm, Prodigy EMS, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and part-time executive director of the California Ambulance Association.

He previously served as the chief operating officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Additionally, he served as COO for Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California.

Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in 2008, Rob served as the COO for the East of England Ambulance Service in Suffolk County, England, and as the executive director of operations and service development for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust. Rob is a former Army officer and graduate of the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served worldwide in a 20-year military career encompassing many prehospital and evacuation leadership roles.

Rob is a board member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) as well as chair of the American Ambulance Association’s State Association Forum. He writes and podcasts for EMS1 and is a member of the EMS1 Editorial Advisory Board. Connect with him on Twitter.