The Centers for Disease Control has designated 35 Ebola treatment centers in hospitals across the country, officials said Tuesday, with more expected to be set up in the next few weeks.
The expansion means the bulk of travelers returning from Ebola-stricken countries would live within 200 miles of one of these treatment centers. The United States has only seen 4 cases of Ebola, one causing death. The disease has killed thousands in West Africa where the outbreak has sparked a world response.
The CDC said Ebola treatment centers are designated by state health officials after showing they not only have the resources to treat Ebola patients, but also have completed training programs focused on minimizing the risk of infection to healthcare workers.
[See also: The CFO and Ebola: Anticipating expenses.]
Ebola is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids from an infected person. It can take 8 to 10 days after exposure for a victim to display symptoms.
“As long as Ebola is spreading in West Africa, we must prepare for the possibility of additional cases in the United States,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, in a statement. “These hospitals have worked hard to rigorously assess their capabilities and train their staff.”
Map of Ebola treatment centers:
The CDC also runs three bio-containment facilities at Emory University Hospital, Nebraska Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health where patients evacuated from overseas would likely be treated.
[See also: Ebola opens up health workforce rift.]
More than 50 hospitals in 15 states have been screened for their Ebola treatment abilities, the CDC said.
Here is the full list of centers:
Kaiser Oakland Medical Center; Oakland, California Kaiser South Sacramento Medical Center; Sacramento, California University of California Davis Medical Center; Sacramento, California University of California San Francisco Medical Center; San Francisco, California Emory University Hospital; Atlanta, Georgia Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Chicago, Illinois Northwestern Memorial Hospital; Chicago, Illinois Rush University Medical Center; Chicago, Illinois University of Chicago Medical Center; Chicago, Illinois Johns Hopkins Hospital; Baltimore, Maryland University of Maryland Medical Center; Baltimore, Maryland National Institutes of Health Clinical Center; Bethesda, Maryland Allina Health’s Unity Hospital; Fridley, Minnesota Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota – Saint Paul Campus, Saint Paul, Minnesota Mayo Clinic Hospital – Rochester, Saint Marys Campus; Rochester, Minnesota University of Minnesota Medical Center, West Bank Campus; Minneapolis, Minnesota Nebraska Medical Center; Omaha, Nebraska North Shore-LIJ Health System/Glen Cove Hospital; Glen Cove, New York Montefiore Health System; New York City, New York New York-Presbyterian/Allen Hospital; New York City, New York NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation/HHC Bellevue Hospital Center; New York City, New York Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital; New Brunswick, New Jersey The Mount Sinai Hospital; New York City, New York Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Galveston, Texas Methodist Hospital System in collaboration with Parkland Hospital System and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Richardson, Texas University of Virginia Medical Center; Charlottesville, Virginia Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center; Richmond, Virginia Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Milwaukee, Wisconsin Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin – Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee; Milwaukee, Wisconsin UW Health – University of Wisconsin Hospital, Madison, and the American Family Children’s Hospital, Madison; Madison, Wisconsin MedStar Washington Hospital Center; Washington, DC Children's National Medical Center; Washington DC George Washington University Hospital; Washington DC