A patient at Duke Hospital in Durham is currently being monitored as a possible case of Ebola, state health care officials reported Sunday. The patient’s preliminary tests showed negative results on Monday. The patient will be kept in quarantine for 72 hours and then tested again to confirm.
The patient arrived in the United States on Friday after traveling to Liberia and later reported a fever, but the patient reported no known contact with Ebola and showed no symptoms upon arriving at Newark International Airport in New Jersey.
Raleigh’s Rex Hospital has already taken steps in preparation for an Ebola breakout. They have designated areas to treat infected patients as well as areas to host patients if the current wing of the hospital for infectious patients becomes overcrowded, according to Dr. Marty Cooney, the infection prevention manager at Rex Hospital.
Doctors and nurses at Rex Hospital have taken precautionary training courses addressing exactly how to put on and remove protective medical garments when treating Ebola patients since August.
In case of a massive breakout, all hospitals in the Triangle area would coordinate with each other and with the community as a whole to find places for infected persons, Cooney said.
Rex Hospital has been ranked one of the top hospitals in the area for treating infectious illnesses without contamination, Cooney said.
According to Cooney, Rex Hospital currently contains medical equipment set aside specifically for people with contagious diseases and hosts pressurized and quarantine areas designated for treating infected patients to avoid spreading the disease.
“We recognize the risk early and try to prepare ourselves as soon as we can,” Cooney said.
Andrew Siler, a sophomore in electrical engineering, said he was glad Raleigh hospitals are thinking about the possibility of Ebola in the area.
“I think it’s good that Rex is doing these things because if Ebola comes to the Triangle, I want the nurses and doctors in the area to be adequately prepared,” Siler said.
The training course at Rex Hospital was designed so the staff could also test the processes already in place concerning protocol with infectious illnesses.
Continuing with the ongoing Ebola preparations, doctors and nurses are prepped to wash their hands constantly, which is the most important step that people in the community and students can take to prevent the spread of infectious illnesses, Cooney said.
“I think with what happened in Texas, the training program and precautionary steps are completely necessary because we don’t want the same thing happening here,” said Madison Miller, a sophomore in park, recreation and tourism management.
“We’re going to base our protocol on the worst case scenario,” Cooney said. “You may not be able to prepare for every single variable, but if you practice for them, then you are that much more ready to face any threat.”
According to Cooney, the number of people infected with Ebola doubles every 21 to 22 days in Africa, but the health care system is more equipped to handle Ebola in the U.S. and it is much less likely to spread here.
Rex Hospital is scheduling another training course to prepare for an Ebola breakout. However, this training session will focus on EMTs and the specific procedures that apply to them as opposed to staff such as nurses taking care of patients.
Alan Wolf, media relations manager for Rex Hospital and UNC Health Care said the UNC Health Care system is preparing for anything regarding the spreading of the Ebola virus.
“At Rex and across the UNC Health Care system we don’t take chances when it comes to protecting our coworkers, patients and visitors,” Wolf said.
