Can my hospital handle an Ebola outbreak?
This is a question many are asking themselves in light of the spread of the virus to the United States. Systems, hospitals and offices are assessing their abilities to identify the disease, isolate patients and disseminate information to the public.
While many are saying their hospitals are ready to handle patients with the disease — there is no official tally of hospitals that are "ready" — a recent survey of nurses indicated most believe their hospital may not be prepared to handle a case of Ebola. The major reasons for this included a lack of communication of admitting policies for potential Ebola patients, no Ebola education and insufficient supplies of protective gear.
The response is not hospital-specific. Dallas, where the first case of Ebola presenting in America was recently handled, has released a public health decision-tree for its emergency medical services and providers for determining when a patient may potentially be displaying symptoms of the disease.
Currently, hospitals who have handled Ebola patients include University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Texas Presbyterian hospital in Dallas and Emory Hospital in Atlanta. According to a report from KULR news, as of the end of September, Emory, UNMC, National Institutes of Health in Maryland and St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Mont., are the only four hospitals in the U.S. with special infectious disease wings pre-equipped to handle cases of rare and serious infectious diseases, including Ebola.
While the risk of transmission of the virus is low, containing the disease requires proper infection control protocols and rapid public health responses.
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