Following news of the first Ebola diagnosis confirmed on U.S. soil, staff at the University of South Alabama Medical Center sought to reassure the public that the hospital is equipped to handle a potential case without risking a broader outbreak like those seen in West Africa.
Any hospital in the country has the basic equipment and training needed to isolate a patient and prevent the virus from spreading, said Teresa Aikens, the medical center’s nurse manager for infection prevention and employee health. Speaking at a media briefing, Aikens compared the level of preparation to what hospitals already do ahead of hurricane season or other regional emergencies.
“People assume and people worry,” Aikens said. “Health care providers are already working on this and getting prepared.”
She said the hospital already has the necessary protective gear and protocols on hand should a patient arrive showing symptoms. All that would be required, she explained, is a private room with its own bathroom, clear signage marking it as an isolation space, and a cart stocked with gloves, face shields and other protective equipment placed just outside the door.
Aikens emphasized that Ebola cannot spread through the air. The virus is transmitted only through direct contact with the bodily fluids of someone who is actively showing symptoms, meaning casual contact carries little to no risk.
Alongside fellow nurse manager Valerie Heinl, Aikens walked through the standard precautions hospital staff would take with a contagious patient: thorough hand-washing both before entering and after leaving a patient’s room, gloves removed carefully by turning them inside out, and full protective gear consisting of a body-length apron, a paper face mask and a clear shield to protect the eyes.
Any waste generated in the course of treating a patient with a serious infectious disease is handled as biohazardous material and disposed of accordingly, Aikens said, to further reduce any risk of exposure to staff or other patients.
The briefing came amid heightened national attention to Ebola preparedness following the diagnosis of the first U.S. patient earlier in the week, with hospitals across the country reviewing isolation procedures. Officials at the Mobile hospital said their goal was simply to walk the public through exactly what would happen if a suspected case arrived locally, and to underscore that standard infection-control measures already used for other diseases are sufficient to keep staff, patients and the surrounding community safe.