"It is not possible to predict whether there will be an Ebola case in Colorado. It is necessary to be prepared," said Larry Wolk, MD, executive director and chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), in a joint statement released today by CDPHE, the Colorado Medical Society, the Colorado Hospital Association, the Colorado Nurses Association and the Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials.

The state's top health organizations are collaborating to refine statewide plans for responding to a possible case of Ebola, and to assist hospitals, health care providers and first responders in their preparations. Preparations include educating health care staff and practicing scenarios about caring for patients with Ebola, including use of personal protective equipment, triage of suspected patients, logistics of providing ongoing care, and appropriate control procedures for hazardous material handling and disposal.

"By working closely with all of our health care partners, we are helping to ensure Colorado's preparedness for any potential Ebola virus exposures. Indeed, it is by coordinating efforts throughout the health care system that Colorado best can prepare," said CMS President Tamaan Osbourne-Roberts, MD. "Together, we will make every effort to inform providers and the public on policies and procedures to contain the Ebola virus, if necessary, in order to maintain the health and safety of Coloradans."

Click here to read the joint statement.

To help keep physicians and their staffs informed on the latest in the 2014 Ebola epidemic, the Colorado Medical Society has put together an Ebola resources page on our website, CMS.org. Click here to view it.

The Ebola epidemic is affecting multiple countries in West Africa and impacting countries around the world. One travel-associated case was diagnosed in the United States on Sept. 30; the patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, died at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas on Oct. 8. A second case, Nina Pham, an ICU nurse who treated Mr. Duncan, was identified on Oct. 12. And today, Oct. 15, news agencies are reporting that another health care worker in Dallas has tested positive for the virus.

In a press briefing on Oct. 13, Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "What we need to do is all take responsibility for improving the safety of those on the front lines.... All of us have to work together to do whatever is possible to reduce the risk that any other health care worker becomes infected."

While Colorado has no cases of Ebola, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance to prepare for the possibility. Early recognition of Ebola is important for providing appropriate patient care and preventing the spread of infection. The CDC and CDPHE recommend that health care providers:

• Ask
  • All patients if they have traveled to Sierra Leone, Guinea or Liberia within 21 days, and
  • About symptoms consistent with Ebola Virus Disease.
  • Everyone, every time.
• Isolate
  • If both criteria are met, isolate the patient in a single patient room (with private bathroom) with door closed.
• Call
  • Call hospital leadership, and
  • Call CDPHE at (303) 692-2700 (after hours, (303) 370-9395). Also notify CDPHE of any patients reporting exposure to Ebola, even if they have no symptoms.

Click here for more information on signs and symptoms, transmission, travel restrictions and screening, and an extensive list of resources for physicians that includes current recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Medical Association, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the American Hospital Association, and more.

Join the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 from 12 - 1 p.m. for "Introduction to the ACC Medicare-Medicaid Program."

During this webinar, providers will learn more about the new Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC) Medicare-Medicaid Program and how it will help Medicare and Medicaid work together better for patients. This new ACC program began in September and will help to enhance care coordination for full-benefit Medicare and Medicaid patients. The webinar will explain: How the ACC program works, how the ACC program helps providers and patients, and how the ACC program can help with care coordination and support.

Click here to register.

Join your colleagues at the 2014 Bugs & Drugs Conference, Saturday, Nov. 8, 6:30 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado. Attendees can earn up to 7.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Get updates on Ebola and other emerging infections, Hepatitis C screening and treatment, zoonotic infections, antimicrobial resistance, HIV prevention, STD update, skin/soft tissue infections, travel-related infections, and immunizations. These topics will be presented by clinical experts from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver Health, CDPHE and Denver VAMC.

Find details and registration at www.ucdenver.edu/bugsanddrugs.