SARS Outbreak Prevented Thanks to Skillful Handling

Advanced Preparation and Commitment to Service

It was April 14th, 2003 when a man walked into the Emergency Room at Lehigh Valley Hospital – Muhlenberg, complaining of flu-like symptoms, including shortness of breath, dehydration, and a cough.  He had already been seen by his primary-care physician, as well as another hospital’s ER team, but the link between his recent travels and his symptoms weren’t noticed until he presented at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

The ER staff was prepared, and they followed the infection control protocols very carefully.  First, they didn’t allow the man access to the general population in the waiting room.  According to Chris Lewis, Emergency Services Director, “He was very sick-looking.  I helped get him to a bed, because he just really looked sick.”  This simple decision was pivotal in ensuring that the risk of transmission was reduced.

Within the next two and a half hours, it was determined that the man was suffering from SARS.  His early isolation from the general population and the following of the CDC guidelines for Environmental Infection Control from that point on ensured the safety of not only the staff, but the rest of the hospital population and the community beyond its doors.

The Plan is Key

Crothall’s EVS team, which served Lehigh Valley Hospital’s main facility in Allentown at the time of the SARS incident, is ready for the challenge of servicing our clients during a public health emergency because of the level of preplanning that is done before an infected patient ever enters one of our facilities.  At Crothall, it is part of normal operating procedure to follow CDC guidelines, as well as to work with each client to create an infection control response plan that is utilized whenever an isolation area is cleaned.

It comes down to common sense.  The cleaner the facility is before an outbreak of an infectious disease, the better it will be for containment afterwards.  Crothall cleans all hard surfaces with products designed to reduce the risk of transmission of such pathogens as MRSA and other common hospital-acquired infections.  This commitment to the reduction of HAIs within plays a critical role as Crothall continues to protect Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, including the Muhlenberg facility, which Crothall started managing in 2004. 

The following are just a small part of Crothall’s infection control plan at LVH in the event of a SARS or other serious health threat:

• Crothall’s on-site management team is part of the multidisciplinary infection-control team;
• The EVS team follows CDC environmental infection-control measures for areas with patients at high risk;
• The staff performs environmental surface cleaning and disinfection strategies with respect to antibiotic-resistant microorganisms.