North Texas Hospitals Respond To Nurse's Ebola Diagnosis
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DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - News that a nurse caring for the nation's first Ebola patient has now contracted the disease has other North Texas hospitals reviewing procedures and providing additional training. But, officials with Dallas' Parkland hospital say their staffers are not panicking.
"I think everybody's concerned about the same thing," says Alex Eastman, M.D., Parkland's Medical Director for Disaster Preparedness. "Are we prepared to protect our personnel if we're called upon to treat someone with Ebola virus disease? And I think the answer is an unequivocal 'yes.'"
Complete Coverage Of Ebola In North Texas
Dr. Eastman says Parkland has even assembled what they're calling an Ebola 'strike team' to respond if an Ebola patient is admitted. He says those staffers would become the hospital's first responders and are receiving additional training. They are particularly focused on the handling of the personal protective gear. CDC officials have said that the handling-- or mishandling-- of the gear can provide an opportunity for the deadly virus to spread.
"The equipment itself doesn't protect you by nature," says Dr. Eastman, "it's how you use it. So we've got to make sure that our providers are not only skilled in putting it on and taking it off... but, actually working in that environment. We are now continuing to ramp that up and making sure that our group of providers are ready if we're called upon to do this today."
Parkland officials also add that the protective gear being used in the drills currently exceeds CDC guidelines.
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