Georgia monitoring more than 100 people for Ebola symptoms
Rebecca Lindstrom
11alive.com
December 4, 2014
ATLANTA — When two nurses in Texas were diagnosed with Ebola after treating a patient in their care, Gov. Nathan Deal announced Georgia would have six hospitals specially equipped and trained to treat the illness.
“It is better to be overly cautious than it is to be not cautious at all,” said Deal at an October 27 campaign event, where he announced the state’s plan for dealing with increased screening checks at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
According to a CDC report, there are 35 approved hospitals across the country. Emory University Hospital is the only Georgia facility on that list.
The Department of Public Health won’t say when other hospitals will be ready or how many are even trying. Nor would it address concerns the state is falling behind others in preparedness.
DPH spokesperson Nancy Nydam did release this statement: “The hospitals and staff are going through intense training in preparation for treating Ebola patients or evaluating potential cases of Ebola. Some of the hospitals are making physical modifications to their facilities in order to properly care for patients or potential patients, while keeping their medical staff protected, along with other patients and or members of the public. The hospitals will also be visited by the CDC and others to ensure they have completed all the training and met all the requirements to be Ebola-ready treatment or evaluation facilities. Hospitals are at different levels of completion, but while preparation is still ongoing, DPH will not identify any of the hospitals.”
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