By Robert Rutherford | Resource Development Officer
International Medical Corps is taking a two-pronged approach, treatment and training, to address the most immediate, critical needs of the Ebola outbreak and build the capacity of the national health care system to address this epidemic and meet the challenges of future outbreaks as well.
With a 70-bed Ebola Treatment Unit up and running in Bong County, Liberia and a 50-bed unit soon scheduled to open in Lunsar, Sierra Leone, International Medical Corps is currently in discussions to open two additional units in the region over the next several weeks. Once open, units will operate for a minimum of 6 months. Each unit will require 200+ trained staff working in 24/7 shifts to provide treatment and training for patients. In both Liberia and Sierra Leone, 90% of treatment unit staff will be local healthcare workers trained in Ebola treatment and prevention.
To meet the critical staffing needs on the ground – the UN Development Program in Liberia estimated that it needs 40,000 trained community healthcare workers in that country alone -- International Medical Corps has developed a broad-based training strategy that will provide training to local communities and community-based organizations; international healthcare workers and volunteers; local, national staff; and partner organizations.
Training will be delivered through Ebola Training Centers, adjacent to treatment units, allowing for classroom education and monitored, hands-on experience in treatment units for new staff and partner organizations – equipping additional organizations with the skills needed to open their own units. International Medical Corps is also deploying mobile support teams which will provide ongoing training and support to treatment unit staff and partner organizations – training thousands of new frontline healthcare workers in the next six months.
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