CDC Plans To Route Future U.S. Ebola Patients To Specially Trained Hospitals
Anna Almendrala
HuffingtonPost.com
10/20/2014
In the event that another person in the United States tests positive for Ebola, they could be re-routed to one of a handful of hospitals that are specifically equipped and trained to deal with deadly viruses like Ebola, confirmed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Tom Frieden during a press conference on Oct. 20.
“There’s a need for specialized centers when there is a patient with confirmed Ebola, or a number of patients if that were to happen in the future,” said Frieden, though he did not specify which hospitals would be among the designated group. “We need to increase the margin of safety.”
So far during this outbreak, only four hospitals across the United States have experience treating Ebola patients: Nebraska Medicine, Emory University Hospital, the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.
“There are many hospitals in the country that are already in the process of becoming proficient in care of patients with Ebola,” said Frieden. “We’re focusing first on Dallas, where they’ve been dealing with Ebola, and in case there are additional cases that arise there, they’ll be ready to care for them.”
In addition to announcing the hospital plan, Frieden also confirmed significant changes to safety protocol for U.S. health workers who are caring for Ebola patients. The changes were reached by consensus among “all people in the U.S. with experience with Ebola,” as well as Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
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