While federal health officials are still discussing having specific hospitals designated as Ebola treatment centers, New York has already moved in that direction, according to an article on the Modern Healthcare website.
Bellevue Hospital Center has agreed to take confirmed cases of Ebola from the 11 hospitals within the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp.
However, some experts are maintaining that the logistical challenges such a plan raises would still make it vital for all healthcare facilities to be prepared for Ebola cases.
Dr. Ashish Jha, professor of international health at Harvard University said such specialized centers for Ebola care already exist, referring to the country's only four facilities with biocontainment units designed to isolate patients with deadly infectious diseases, which include Emory University Hospital in Atlanta; Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb.; St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Mont.; and the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md.
But other healthcare facilities still have to be aware of what if they encounter a patient with Ebola, Jha said.
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