All Mobile County Health Department staff receiving EVD preparedness training

Mobile County Health Department staff members take part in an Ebola preparedness

training activity on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. A member of the clinical staff demonstrates

how to place the hood of the personal protective suit over the face shield.

MOBILE, Ala. -- Members of the Mobile County Health Department and Family Health staff have begun additional training for all 500 employees in case someone in the community is suspected to have been infected with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

All staff, regardless of their duties, are receiving the training, said Dr. Bernard Eichold, Health Officer for Mobile County. Employees are learning about the basics of EVD. They are also learning how to identify symptomatic patients with a travel history to West Africa or who have been in close contact with someone who has a recent travel history to areas affected by the virus.

Clinical staff are learning how to most appropriately triage such patients. Finally, all employees are receiving refresher training on basic infection control practices such as hand washing and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

For nearly two months, a team of MCHD and Family Health staff members have been part of Alabama Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention planning calls and webinars as the state developed communication and logistical plans for dealing with an ebola outbreak in Alabama. Those plans are ongoing, health officials said, as new safety protocols for effectively dealing with EVD patients continue to emerge.