Officials from northeast Kansas met Tuesday to review response plans for a possible outbreak of the Ebola virus. More than 50 people from local governments, health agencies and law enforcement gathered for the exercise. Shawnee County Emergency Management Director Dusty Nichols says they have plans in place, and these types of agency reviews help them determine if the plans will work.
“A lot of times we need to sit down and make sure that our expectations form another agency are going to be met, the types of resources that we’re going to need and the types of training and education that might have to go out there,” says Nichols.
Nichols says they’ve had plans in place for responding to Ebola since an outbreak began in 2014. He says the Ebola plans will also be beneficial for fighting outbreaks of other diseases. Nichols says these gatherings can help them better coordinate with other agencies.
“Any time we get to sit down and talk to our partners at any level it’s going to help. Just knowing who the person is to talk to, just having that contact should something happen. Knowing the expert in a specific hospital or agency,” says Nichols.
Nichols says the Ebola training will also be useful for fighting outbreaks of other diseases.