WASHINGTON, D.C. – Less than one week after a health care worker who traveled to Northeast Ohio tested positive for Ebola, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter today to Administration officials calling on them to take a more active role in helping state and local officials prepare for any potential Ebola threat in Ohio.

“Ohio is home to some of the best hospitals and infectious disease experts in the country,” Brown said. “But it’s critical that federal officials outline strict and effective protocols to harness that expertise and ensure the safety and health of all Ohioans.”

In a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Thomas Frieden, and Ebola Response Coordinator Ron Klain, Brown outlined a five-part plan for managing any emerging cases of Ebola. These include:

• Going above and beyond the CDC’s traditional role of providing guidance to local authorities to becoming an active partner in the local decision-making process;
• Meeting and working directly with state and local public health experts and health care providers on a consistent basis to continually assess, update, and enhance protocols;
• Monitoring closely the individuals who have been quarantined under local authority;
• Partnering with local health care systems and hospitals to develop a clear plan for any potential patients and educating all health care professionals on this plan of action; and
• Sending additional preparedness experts, infection control experts, and additional personnel from the CDC to Ohio.

Brown is working closely with federal, state, and local medical experts and health officials to monitor the situation and ensure potential threats are immediately identified and contained. Last week, Brown wrote to Burwell and Frieden asking HHS and the CDC to take action to monitor potential exposure in Northeast Ohio.

Full text of the letter is below and here.

October 20, 2014

The Honorable Sylvia Mathews Burwell
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201

Dr. Thomas R. Frieden
Director 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30329

Mr. Ron Klain
Ebola Response Coordinator
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Secretary Burwell, Director Frieden, and Mr. Klain:

Earlier this week, we learned that the most recent individual diagnosed with Ebola in the United States spent time in Northeast Ohio shortly before diagnosis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) responded quickly to the situation by sending agency personnel to thoroughly track, trace, and monitor all persons that may have been exposed to the individual. While I appreciate the incredible support the CDC has already provided to Ohio authorities managing this situation, the CDC must take a more active role in helping state and local officials prepare for any potential next steps.

Now that the local health authorities in Northeast Ohio have acted on their state authority to quarantine those who may who have come in contact with the infected individual, I urge the CDC to continue working with state and local public health experts, the Ohio Department of Health, local insurance plans, and Ohio health systems and hospitals to develop a plan of next steps and additional protocols should any Ohioans exhibit symptoms of Ebola.

These steps include:

1. Going above and beyond the CDC’s traditional role of providing guidance to local authorities to becoming an active partner in the local decision-making process;
2. Meeting and working directly with state and local public health experts and health care providers on a consistent basis to continually assess, update, and enhance protocols;
3. Monitoring closely the individuals who have been quarantined under local authority;
4. Partnering with local health care systems and hospitals to develop a clear plan for any potential patients and educating all health care professionals on this plan of action; and
5. Sending additional preparedness experts, infection control experts, and additional personnel from the CDC to Ohio.

Please keep my office updated on any developments. I remain ready to assist in any way that I can.

Sincerely,



Sherrod Brown
United States Senator

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