The Emergency Service response agencies of Sumter County are continuing to address the issue of Ebola preparedness, though the chance of encountering an infected patient within Sumter County is extremely low, according to county officials.
Sumter County Fire and EMS, The Villages Public Safety, and Rural Metro Ambulance (Sumter EMS) are three frontline agencies most likely to first encounter and interact with an individual infected with Ebola or any other virus or disease, county officials have indicated. All three agencies are working closely with their Medical Director, the Florida Department of Health Sumter County, and local hospitals to ensure the appropriate protocols and equipment are in place for their staff as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Training of the protocols and use of equipment will be ongoing with changing protocols.
Interaction with local law enforcement, emergency management, and a multitude of other local agencies is also occurring to increase the county’s preparedness. Sumter County has adopted additional CDC recommendations not yet recommended for this region for the purposes of reducing reaction time for any Ebola issue encountered by local agencies. One recommendation adopted in advance of the regional recommendations is 9-1-1 call processing which adds specific questioning to calls when there is a higher than normal index of suspicion for Ebola.