CHI Health Good Samaritan hospital staff undergoes decontamination training

KEARNEY, Neb. (KSNB) - A Kearney hospital received training in decontamination Tuesday afternoon as the University of Nebraska Medical Center helped CHI Health Good Samaritan train employees. Staff learned how to handle patients who have been exposed to hazardous materials.

Employees must first decontaminate the patient in the parking lot, and officials said an event like this can happen anywhere at anytime, making this skill a must. Especially in rural areas due to the usual delays before additional resources arrive.

“The process of washing would be universal to most hazards,” said Leslie Scofield, University of Nebraska Medical Center. “There might be some chemicals that are water loving chemicals that you wouldn’t use water, you’d have to use some other form of decontamination but this donning of the personal protection equipment can be beneficial when dealing with patients with infectious diseases as well.”

Scofield said the training helped employees learn about the challenges that come with the decontamination process.

“The biggest thing is to learn where the gaps are and what challenges that they might have and identify those before a real event, and then just get a comfort level,” said Scofield. “They’ve gone through some virtual sessions prior to this where they learned about the chemicals and the various categories and things like that and the processes for decontamination.”

Scofield said with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the training was brought back because they can have close interactions.

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