Starke County EMS Director Travis Clary told the Starke County Council and Commissioners Monday night that COVID-19 is certainly affecting operations.
Clary stated, “It’s no secret that our area is being hit hard by COVID-19. I’ve had some paramedics and EMTs – specifically five full-time paramedics on quarantine, one full-time EMT on quarantine, and we’ve also had full-time EMT out on injury that was not work-related. I’ve also had several part-time EMTs and paramedics that have been on quarantine.”
Starke County Health Nurse Frank Lynch stated that when it gets into these situations with essential personnel like EMS medics, as long as they are asymptomatic and do not test positive, they can continue their duties.
When dealing with a COVID-19 positive patient, EMS personnel will wear appropriate gear and personal protective equipment to protect themselves against the virus. In fact, Clary said he upgraded to a different type of mask.
“Instead of doing the N-95s, we’ve had so many issues lately that I went with the elipse P100. It’s supposed to filter out a lot more viruses and bacteria 100 percent instead of 95 percent of particles. They’re wearing gowns, goggles, an N-95 or elipse P100 mask, and gloves. We’re exposed daily, but again we’re in the proper PPE. If we had to quarantine everybody, we wouldn’t have a service. We just ask people to wear masks at this point.”
Clary previously stated that some patients do not call for an ambulance for fear of COVID-19, but Clary assured that all precautions are being taken. The inside of every ambulance is decontaminated with wipes and sprays specifically formulated to kill COVID germs after every transport.
