What does it take to Ebola-proof a hospital?

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Found at Philly.com

What does it take to Ebola-proof a hospital?

... Federal officials have said they're trying to identify up to 20 hospitals around the country as Ebola referral centers. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inspection teams have visited nearly 30 hospitals to offer advice and see if they have the right safeguards in place to treat patients with Ebola...

...There is no tried-and-true way to build an Ebola ward, but the administrators cobbling them together have been guided by a few key principals gleaned from clinics in Africa and the few full biocontainment facilities in the U.S.

At a minimum, treatment units need a "hot" zone where patients can be isolated, a "cold" zone kept free of anything that might be tainted with the virus, and a "warm" zone where workers can peel off protective gear while spotters watch for any small break in protocol. Most hospitals have also preferred to locate their Ebola treatment areas far, far from other patients.

Here is a look at some of the solutions that they've come up with in three months of frenzied planning:...

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20141118_ap_893cc38b42514d2f88a185b35033985e.html#1ufQ5TGugMsSFtuw.99

Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

Some plastic sheeting, and a tent.

An unused, obsolete ICU wing. Or an off site temporary building.

Is it just me, or does all of that sound like an infection control disaster?

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