Key Facts on Ebola Virus Preparations in Pennsylvania Hospitals
Pennsylvania hospitals are prepared to
screen for and safely and quickly isolate Ebola cases. Every Pennsylvania hospital is prepared to:
patients for Ebola symptoms and travel history
a patient with possible exposure to Ebola
the safety of caregivers and staff by providing appropriate
information and personal protection equipment (PPE)
any emergency care needed to stabilize a patient isolated due to possible Ebola
local and state health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) to determine plans for testing, and if the case is confirmed,
Every hospital has plans, protocols, and
appropriate supplies and equipment in place to care for patients with serious
infectious diseases. All clinical staff are trained in standard infection
CDC has rapid response teams that will help the Pennsylvania Department of
Health (DOH) and hospitals plan the care for likely or confirmed cases of
Members of this team could be on the
ground within a few hours at any hospital that receives a patient strongly
suspected of having Ebola. This team will:
- Provide in-person, expert technical
assistance and support regarding infection control, health care safety, contact
tracing, public education, and other issues
- Advise as to the best facility for
treating the patient, such as one of the nation’s four specialized facilities
for treating infectious disease
are doing everything possible to protect staff, patients, and their communities
from the threat of Ebola.
To protect the safety of caregivers,
hospitals are following the latest CDC guidance on the use of PPE, including
the use of a buddy system and designated areas for putting on and taking off PPE.
Hospitals continue to conduct frequent drills
with front-line staff, doctors, nurses, and any other staff as appropriate, on
proper procedures for putting on and taking off personal protective equipment.
Hospitals are making sure all appropriate
staff know how to safely and quickly isolate any patient that may have been
exposed to Ebola. In particular, additional guidelines for emergency departments
have recently been issued by the CDC.
The CDC, DOH, and local health departments
are leading the response to the threat of Ebola in the U.S. and Pennsylvania.
CDC has issued extensive guidance for hospitals and
health care organizations and continues to hold many conference calls to make
sure the hospitals are prepared to follow guidance and protocols.
has issued guidance for hospital and other health care settings and is holding
conference calls for hospitals in regions across the state.
are working with local county health departments to protect the safety of their
are an important part of Pennsylvania’s readiness to respond to the threat of
Ebola. Hospitals take this responsibility very seriously and are following
public health guidance.
Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) has been
providing member hospitals with regular updates and information about the
Ebola virus from federal and state officials and professional organizations.
HAP will continue to provide members with information as appropriate.
This is the first time our nation has
dealt with Ebola. As
a result, national, state, and local public health protocols are evolving as we
learn more each day. Hospitals are:
together and learning from our collective experience
assessing our approaches
to new CDC, DOH, and local public health guidance and protocols as they
The general public should have very
little concern that an Ebola outbreak will occur in the U.S.
To date, only two people have been infected with the Ebola virus on U.S.
soil. These two nurses were infected while caring for the first U.S. Ebola
patient, who contracted the virus while in West Africa. Thankfully, both nurses
monitored themselves for any signs of Ebola, quickly sought help when symptoms
appeared, were isolated and treated, and now have been declared virus free.
is important to remember that a person infected with the Ebola virus is not
contagious until symptoms appear. According to the CDC, the virus is spread
only through direct contact with bodily fluids of a person who has been
infected and only after they begin to show symptoms. It is not spread through
An important step everyone can take is to get a
flu shot since the flu has many of the same symptoms as early symptoms of
Ebola, such as fever and body aches.