For the paramedics and EMTs in Warren County’s two primary ambulance districts, dealing with sick people is a daily part of the job. Dealing with a new, highly contagious disease, however, requires many extra precautions.

Administrators at the Warren County and Marthasville Community ambulance districts told The Record they’ve been operating with extra protective gear and tight daily routines to prevent medical staff from getting sick with COVID-19.

The first step for the districts was minimizing public contact. Ambulance bases in the county have been closed to visitors for over a month, and various classes and community visits have halted.

When medics go out on a call, they always wear face masks in addition to their standard gloves, and sometimes don full-body personal protective equipment (PPE), said Marthasville Ambulance Chief Ann Cleavelin.

Shortages of that protective equipment can make getting it a challenge, Cleavelin said. Staff have been conserving and reusing it as much as they’re able.

“The CDC says you can reuse masks four to five times, depending on the condition,” Cleavelin explained. She added that her staff has had to use substitutes for some gear, such as gowns that cover the upper body.

Identifying what PPE will be needed to interact with patients starts at the 911 call center in Warrenton. Whenever a call comes in for medical assistance, 911 operators ask screening questions to look for possible symptoms of COVID-19. If that screening triggers a warning, ambulance staff use full PPE and take extra steps to decontaminate afterward.

“When we get to the hospital, if it’s a possible positive patient, we drop the patient off, then the person who was in the back of the ambulance will go into the decontamination room at the hospital, while the driver will start to do the decon procedure (in the truck),” Cleavelin said. Medics decontaminate again once they return to base.

One other challenge the Marthasville district is facing is that some medics who split their time with other districts aren’t being allowed by their “main” district to take shifts in Marthasville during the emergency, Cleavelin said.

Warren County Ambulance District Chief Tim Flake said frequent decontaminations and health screenings have become routine at all of the district’s four bases. Ambulance staff are screened twice per day, and all personnel, vehicles and equipment are decontaminated after every call.

Flake said staff have also implemented procedures to limit how many people are in close proximity to a patient unless physical contact is required.

If they do transport someone showing symptoms of COVID-19, Flake said the ambulance gets a decontamination treatment that’s also used with flu cases. Strong fluorescent lights are placed inside the ambulance, which emit ultraviolet rays that kill micro-organisms. The light is harmful to

people, though, so other trucks go on a call if one is being decontaminated this way, Flake said.

The potential threat of COVID-19 was on the minds of health care professionals long before the general public. Flake said paramedics were preparing for this scenario around a month before any emergency orders were issued.

Flake said the number of cases seen so far in Warren County has been less than what the district was preparing for. He said people here have taken public health messages seriously.

“I think people really listened on this,” Flake commented.