| Hi jay, This update from the American Refugee Committee is dedicated to ARC’s Ebola Response effort. Read more about what our team is doing below. If you have any questions, the invitation to contact us is open as always. -Daniel Daniel Wordsworth, President *********************************************** *2014 WEST AFRICAN EBOLA OUTBREAK* -The Outbreak- The Ebola epidemic in West Africa is an extraordinary event of international concern, the largest outbreak of the disease in history. 5,458 lives have been lost to the virus in West Africa. It’s a terrible story of fear, loss, pain and anguish for families living in countries like Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Public health experts are agreed that the best way to protect families in West Africa and the rest of the world from the future spread of the virus is to fight Ebola at its source in West Africa. -ARC's Response- The American Refugee Committee was requested by the U.S. government to respond and help people affected by this outbreak of Ebola in Africa. Starting in December, ARC will be managing a new Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) in Fish Town, Liberia. The goal is to get at least 70% of people who’ve been infected through the doors of the ETU, quarantined and aggressively treated in our 60-bed facility. Ebola infections in that region have been relatively few thus far – so success means stopping the virus from ever taking hold in and around Fish Town. This is a key position for preventing the spread of Ebola to neighboring Ivory Coast. ARC is working in close coalition with communities of Liberian Americans and the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing and School of Public Health to organize our response effort. Our team includes medical professionals with years of experience working with infectious diseases and/or with connections to the health community in Liberia. On Thursday, 11 members departed from ARC’s Headquarters to Monrovia, Liberia for intensive training in Ebola care and Ebola treatment unit protocols. Upon completing the training, the team will head to Fish Town where they will be joined by a team of Liberian healthcare workers and support staff. At full capacity, 200 people are required to safely and effectively operate the ETU. Here is a recent news story about the team that departed Thursday: http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/415f6698b4b245f390109fd538ad5e2b/minnesota-health-care-workers-join-ebola-fight -An Abundance of Caution- ARC is responding based on the philosophy to do no harm – no harm in Liberia, no harm to our staff responding, and no harm to communities outside West Africa. In an abundance of caution, we have put in place rigorous protocols for treatment and care as well as strict rules and practices for team members returning home from Ebola-affected regions. When health workers return to the United States, they enter an immediate and mandatory home quarantine period. ARC makes arrangements for the delivery of all food and necessities during this 21-day period and twice daily monitors the temperature and health of the team member. The team is in regular contact with public health authorities, including weekly meetings with the Minnesota Department of Health. *Black Friday/Cyber Monday Shopping* If you’re shopping online already, you have an opportunity to generate additional support for the people ARC serves without doing anything extra. It’s through the AmazonSmile program. When you do your Holiday shopping (OR any shopping all year long) at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to American Refugee Committee. It might seem small, but it all adds up. Please, bookmark the link http://smile.amazon.com/ch/36-3241033 and support us every time you shop.
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