Hospitals in the U.S. trying to prevent a similar case with the Dallas Ebola patient who was sent home and had come into contact with several other people.

University of Kansas Hospital chief medical officer Lee Norman said during his Ebola preparedness speech that a 23-year old man, identified as Josh Seeley, was at the hospital and admitted he recently came back from Sierra Leone. Seeley complained having fever and body pains.

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The medical response team acted immediately and put Seeley in an isolation unit. They quickly took blood tests to confirm if he has contracted Ebola. Later, doctors found out Seeley was affected by malaria and not Ebola.

Norman said the case of Seeley was a valuable dry-run for the hospital’s response team. He also added the condition was a good way to prevent another situation similar to what happened in Dallas.
U.S. hospitals have been very watchful after the Ebola case brought by an infected patient from Liberia to Dallas alarmed Americans.

Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan was brought to a Dallas hospital emergency room but was later sent home even after he told the nurse he recently came from West Africa. Days later, he was taken back to the hospital in an ambulance and died after 10 days later at the intensive care isolation unit.

Inova Health System system director of infection control Michelle Peninger said they have been very much involved in the preparation for Ebola response. Peninger also added Inova Health System operates five healthcare facilities in Northern Virginia.

The Ebola team Peninger oversees took off with 25 members after hospitals became concerned with the epidemic’s outbreak this year. Peninger said there are currently 17,000 health workers in their company that have been trained to cope with epidemic.

The growing cases of Ebola in West Africa have already taken around 4,000 lives. This has also alarmed the U.S. after the recorded incident of the Ebola patient who died in Dallas. Hospitals in the United States are concerned that a new Ebola infected patient would emerge in the country. This has urged them to buy additional protective gear and construct new isolation facilities. Enhanced treatment plans are also established for possible Ebola patients.

Federation of American Hospitals head Chip Kahn said hospitals around the United States are prepared to determine and treat possible Ebola infected patients. He also said the serious case of the epidemic has sent a clear message to healthcare facilities in the country. Furthermore he added the federation represents around one fifth of hospitals in the country and he assures these facilities are top to bottom prepared.

TagsSierra Leone, West Africa, Dallas, Thomas Eric Duncan, Inova Health System, Michelle Peninger, Federation of American Hospitals, Chip Kahn