Boston Hospitals Make Ebola Preparations

BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Local hospitals are taking proactive steps to make sure patients and staff are protected just in case Ebola arrives on the Bay State’s doorstep. WBZ-TV’s Dr. Mallika Marshall reports that Tufts Medical Center in Boston has put up signs in its emergency room asking patients to notify staff if they have been outside of the U.S. in the past 21 days. Brigham and Women’s Hospital is holding a briefing with its infection disease experts and emergency staff and infection control personnel, which will be webcast to its employees. And at Massachusetts General Hospital, staff members received a very detailed email Wednesday about how to identify a patient at risk for ebola and how to proceed, where to place them, who to call and what to wear while examining them. Gov. Deval Patrick is also reassuring Massachusetts residents after the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S. was being treated in Texas. Patrick said Wednesday there is a “very, very low risk” of the disease in Massachusetts. The Texas patient was visiting from Liberia. Ebola has ravaged West Africa. The state Public Health Department issued an advisory Wednesday saying Massachusetts is well prepared to handle an incidence of Ebola in the unlikely event that a case occurs here. The advisory says the public can be confident that local hospitals have the expertise, preparedness and capacity to handle a case of Ebola, calling the infectious disease controls in Massachusetts and the U...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Local News Brigham and Women's Hospital CBS Boston Dr. Mallika Marshall Ebola Massachusetts General Hospital Tufts Medical Center WBZ Source Type: news