COVID-19
How has COVID-19 impacted Eagle Ambulance?
While COVID-19 has brought terrible loss and suffering, it has not deterred us from continuing to provide professional, efficient, and effective care to our community. Our mission stays the same amidst this pandemic as we seek alongside those we serve and those we collaborate with to emerge from this ordeal more capable, more educated, and more prepared for the future.
Our acknowledgement of COVID-19's potential for negatively impacting the health and wellbeing of our patients and staff is evident within the training and practices we have adopted to ensure your requested service is just as safe as it is efficient and effective. Our medical staff has been trained to look for and abide by specific COVID-19 symptoms and protocols, respectively.
- Protective equipment is worn by our employees to prevent exposure or transmission of hazards like COVID-19. At Eagle Ambulance, this means taking contact, airborne, droplet, and standard precautions including wearing a mask (face shield), eye protection, gloves, gown, and placing patients in isolation when appropriate. Frequent hand-washing remains the primary method by which our employees work to reduce the spread of infection.
- Routine and terminal cleaning of our equipment that comes in contact with patients occurs following agency, county, state, and national policies and procedures. Contaminated disposable (single use) patient-care equipment is handled and transported in a manner that reduces risk of illness transmission. Environmental protection rules and Health and Safety Codes are followed for bagging and disposing of all
medical waste.
- Our ambulances are equipped to separate our front cabin from our back cabin as well as filter air out of our back cabin using an exhaust fan to prevent spread of airborne viruses like COVID-19. All areas within our ambulances and within our station are disinfected using appropriate solutions for thorough, effective decontamination.
- Our employees remove and discard of all PPE in appropriate areas, followed by immediate disinfection prior to reentering our ambulances. Employees are educated on COVID-19 signs and symptoms as well as isolation and quarantine protocols, which they adamantly and enthusiastically follow.
The pandemic occurred at a time of convergence of technology and social dynamics that has highlighted some of the enormous positive and negative potential for and in people. Nothing will erase the suffering we have endured and the losses we have experienced. Nonetheless, we at Eagle Ambulance seek to forge onwards and seek to learn from the disparities of this ordeal to improve our services and strengthen our resolve. We stand strongly by our commitment to provide 24/7 emergency and inter-facility transport to our community regardless of the circumstances.
What is COVID-19?
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.
People infected with the COVID-19 virus may experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.
The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based rub frequently and not touching your face.
The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).
Adapted from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1
For more information about COVID-19, please consult the following resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The CDC is the primary place for useful information about COVID-19 in the United States. The CDC provides the latest information about symptoms, testing, and guidelines for specific groups such as community programs, healthcare professionals, schools, workplaces, and people who may be at higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
Access here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
State Departments of Health
These webpages feature state guidelines and policies to help prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in local businesses, communities, and schools. These guidelines are important to ensure that residents of know how to best keep our communities safe and healthy. Access some county dashboards at the following links:
Lewis and Clark County: https://www.lccountymt.gov/health/covid-19.html
Jefferson County: http://www.jeffersoncounty-mt.gov/public_health.html
Montana Department of Public Health and Services: https://dphhs.mt.gov/
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides scientific background on COVID-19. It provides information about the latest research, treatments, and vaccines as well as explanations of scientific terminology used to describe diseases like COVID-19.
Access here: https://covid19.nih.gov/