Health officials question Ebola quarantine powers

CELINA - Mercer County health officials want to know the extent of their authority to quarantine people with a suspected or confirmed case of Ebola.

Although no cases of the deadly disease have been diagnosed locally or in Ohio, county medical director Dr. Philip Masser during a health board meeting Wednesday asked area epidemiologist Deb Scheer if the agency has the authority and power to enforce quarantine.

"They (Ohio Department of Health) say we do," Scheer responded.

Masser said the issue appears somewhat clouded. State and local officials in other areas have met challenges, he said.

Maine nurse Kaci Hickox, who had treated Ebola patients in West Africa, was briefly placed in isolation in New Jersey upon her return to the United States on Oct. 24. She was then allowed to travel to Maine but defied a mandatory quarantine order by the governor and health officials. A judge refused to enforce the order on the condition Hickox was monitored for symptoms.

Hickox did not experience Ebola symptoms and never became ill.

Melanie Amato, a spokeswoman for ODH, said rules are in place that empower county health officials to protect the public.

"The local health department does have the authority to enforce quarantine," Amato said. "The state put out new quarantine protocols on Oct. 31. That means if someone does resist, the state and police have authority to intervene."

ODH last month strengthened its protocols by creating a tier system with guidance on how to handle people exposed directly or indirectly to Ebola. The tier system provides a range of enforceable measures from daily health checks by public officials to a 21-day home quarantine.

Other safeguards also are in place, Scheer said. Local health officials are notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when a resident returning from an Ebola-affected country arrives in the United States, she said.

Ebola - currently an epidemic in four West African countries where it has caused more than 5,000 deaths - produces symptoms such as fever, severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhea. It is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, contaminated objects and infected animals, according to the CDC.

Scheer said she's confident the local area is prepared to handle a case of Ebola, if necessary. Celina's full-time paramedics have been designated as the primary response squad for suspected Ebola patients.

Emergency personnel throughout the county have been trained on how to respond and meetings with all area health partners are ongoing, she said. Included are members of the health department, hospital, county emergency management agency and emergency medical services, Red Cross, fire departments, sheriff's personnel and others.

Scheer said the meetings - including another planned for Monday - help "open the communication path" so everyone is updated on the issue and understands his or her role. The discussions also prepare the health community for any type of illness outbreak that could occur, she said.

"It comes down to communication and working together. The meetings are very helpful," she added.

Wednesday marked the first meeting attended by newly hired health commissioner Amy Littin. The Celina native officially started with the agency Oct. 14.

In other business Wednesday, the board,

• approved a credit card policy with specific use conditions. Credit cards obtained by the health department mainly would be used to pre-pay conference fees for employees who currently must use personal funds and then seek reimbursement.

• tabled a motion to establish a policy for social media, specifically the proposed idea of setting up a Facebook or Twitter account for the health department. Board member Jim Moran asked Littin to gather more information on the legalities and present her findings at the next meeting at noon Dec. 10.

• approved contracts for health screenings at Fort Recovery and St. Henry schools. The cost per student decreased from $5 to $3.75. County director of nursing Julie Shaffer and Littin explained the number of students at each school has increased and they didn't want to burden the district's budgets.

"It's (screenings) never been a money-making process for us," Masser said.

The board agreed to the decrease in fees as a community service effort.
  • learned the health department had administered 2,338 vaccines in October; 1,255 were for the seasonal flu.