OCH explains ambulance cleaning procedure amid coronavirus concerns

The World Health Organization declares the Coronavirus a global pandemic.

However, the process of cleaning medical equipment continues as normal.

EMS teams at OCH Regional Medical Center say ambulances are cleaned after every call. No matter what was wrong with the patient.

Hospital administrators recently met with Mississippi State Department of Health officials to discuss OCH’s preparedness plan for the Coronavirus.

“After we drop them off in the emergency room, we basically clean like we always clean. We use what we call a sterilizing solution. We sterilize everything. Equipment, stretchers, anything that we use that we can sterilize, we will sterilize here. We do have some equipment that we will send up to our sterile supply. They will decontaminate it and send it back down to us totally sterile,” said Shedrick Hogan, with OCH.

The OCH emergency department has added two questions for patients in the triage process to assess anyone that could have the coronavirus.

The hospital also has airborne isolation rooms.