Hospital taking precautions

Kalispell Regional Medical Center remains on alert and ready for pertussis cases with the latest health department updates distributed to every department.

Infection control specialist Shari Courser said no one was in the hospital with pertussis on Monday.

“We’re seeing a lot go through the ER and a lot of testing is being done,” Courser said. “There is no one in house and that’s a good thing.”

When a disease like pertussis circulates in the valley, Courser said hospital officials maintain a heightened awareness, watching and masking anyone with a cough at the front door.

People admitted with pertussis go on “droplet isolation,” meaning anyone in the room wears a mask.

According to Courser, the hospital urges all new employees to get vaccinated for pertussis. She tells them about the need for a booster to maintain immunity.

“A lot of people in the orientation class didn’t know that,” she said. “If you are going to work in a hospital or medical area you need a Tdap because we have a tendency to pick up things in the hospital to take them home and share them with everybody.”

Courser said employees who develop symptoms are seen at the employee health department.

“They are usually given antibiotics and they can’t come to work for five days,” she said. “If they have a child who is positive, they are given the antibiotic, too.”