On December 18, 2015 the NYS Department of Health issued a “Health Advisory”, which updates the Commissioner’s October 16, 2014 order regarding Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

For most NYS ambulance and ALSFR services, the following recommendations apply:

• Conduct PPE training in donning and doffing, upon hire, and at least every 12-months thereafter.
  
  
• The training should consist of actual donning and doffing that is observed by qualified trainers. Lectures, video training, or other methods should not be substituted.
  
  
•  The EMS agency may limit the number of personnel trained, so long as adequate coverage is available at all times, and at all locations, where a patient with confirmed or suspected EVD may be encountered. For most EMS agencies, this means that all pre-hospital personnel should be trained.
  
  
•  EMS agencies should have a plan in place for implementing Just in Time (JIT) training, should the Commissioner of Health determine that there is an increased threat of encountering a patient with confirmed or suspected EVD.
  
  
•  EMS agencies that serve hospitals designated by the Commission of Health as “Ebola Assessment and/or Ebola Treatment Hospitals” should conduct PPE donning and doffing training upon hire, at least every 6-months thereafter, and should also be prepared to engage in drills and other training and preparedness activities with the designated hospital(s) that they serve.

For additional reference, a copy of the December 18, 2015 NYS DOH Health Advisory is below.