County allocates funds to fight Ebola
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 15, 2014 10:38 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Local first-responders participate in Ebola training earlier this year.
Despite the fact that the last known Ebola patient in the United States was declared clear of the virus on Nov. 11, the Wayne County Commissioners have allocated $30,000 for Ebola training and equipment in the county.
"I'd like to point out that if we don't end up using this on Ebola cases, then a lot of this equipment can still be used," County Manager George Wood said. "In other words, it wouldn't be wasted if we don't have an Ebola case."
Wayne Aycock agreed.
"It can be used years down the road," he said. "I would like to mention that I have talked to some of the people at the hospital and they've commended the county for spending the money for this in case there is a need for it. We've already had one case, that did turn out negative, at Duke."
Aycock then compared the allocation of Ebola funds to "buying a $350,000 firetruck that you may need."
Commissioner Ed Cromartie said he hoped the training for Ebola had already taken place before the funds were allocated. And when Aycock said it has, Wood praised Wayne Memorial Hospital's effort.
"I'd like to commend the hospital, also," he said. "I think they've worked extremely well with our people and I think we're in good shape going forward."
Emergency Services director Mel Powers said measures had been put into place to contain the virus before it could become a serious concern, should it pop up in Wayne -- that if someone calls 911 and says they have a fever, it will trigger "a series of questions" that first responders have been trained to ask in order to determine whether or not the caller has Ebola, including whether or not they have traveled out of the country.
"If they say, 'Yes,' that's going to trigger another set of questions," Powers said. "These questions, if they follow the algorithm and it shows that this could be a possible Ebola case, then we have a mechanism in place."