I know there is considerable concern about the Ebola virus. I know also that even though there are only a very few cases in this country, people are worried about its possible spread and whether we are ready if a community member should develop this disease.

I’d like to give you a few facts first and then tell you what Lincoln County Healthcare is doing to protect the community and our staff.

First, the only way to contract Ebola is by direct contact with bodily fluids from someone with an active Ebola infection.

You can’t catch Ebola from someone who has no symptoms and you can’t catch Ebola from simply being in the same city with a patient who has Ebola.

Concern has been expressed that a person who has recently traveled to Dallas, for example, might bring Ebola home with them even if they did not have contact with a patient who is ill from Ebola. This is simply not true.

There are people who are at risk, however. These include persons who have visited the Western African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea within the last 30 days and, people who have had direct contact in the last 30 days with someone who has recently traveled from these countries or who have cared for a patient with Ebola.

The CDC recommends that if you are one of these people and you develop any of the following symptoms you contact a healthcare facility immediately.

These symptoms are: fever greater than 100.4 F, headache or weakness, muscle or joint pain, nausea or vomiting, unexplained bleeding or bruising, or abdominal pain and diarrhea.

In our community we recommend that you call your doctor or LincolnHealth's Damariscotta Emergency Department or the Boothbay Harbor Urgent Care Center; you will receive instructions on what to do next.

If you do not have a medical emergency, it is preferable to call first so that we can limit the risk of exposing other people to the illness. The Emergency Department is staffed 24 hours-a-day with people who can answer your questions.

Together with our partners in MaineHealth, we have developed plans to protect other patients, staff and visitors if we do have a patient who may be infected with the Ebola virus, and to care for such a patient until they can be transferred to one of the hospitals equipped to provide the very specialized care required.

Again, I would like to reassure you that, even though the chance of a person in our community coming down with Ebola is extremely small, we are preparing to provide appropriate care as well as protection for our staff and patients.

The Ebola epidemic in West Africa provides us with a great opportunity to provide appropriate and better care to our community for all infectious diseases.

Well known infections like influenza, Hepatitis B and C, HIV, and pertussis (whooping cough) continue to claim the lives of Americans every day. We can do better as a health system and as a community to improve our health.

In closing, I would like to remind you that there is a disease in this country that killed 36,000 people just last year. It is called influenza, and the risks of catching it are reduced 75 percent by vaccination. Flu season is here, so do yourself and your community a favor and get your flu shot!