Now will those volunteers be housed in a contained area until a patient is cured or dies? This may be another precaution that is needed.
Our game plan is still evolving however, we decided today that the caregivers will be housed at our hospital and will not return home to reduce the exposure to their families. As I said, the plan is still being fleshed out. One thing we are taking a hard look at is what PPE will be used and how we will use it. There is great concern that there is a very high risk of contamination during removal of the PPE after care has been given. Early on in this process we identified and set aside the locations in the ER and in-patient unit where potential ebola victims would be housed. However, as others have indicated the capabilities of our local hospitals would be easily overwhelmed by more than a few patients. From what I am being told, the desire is for all ebola and potential ebola victims to be cared for at the hospital where Duncan died. Reduce the exposure and the contaminated areas so that the ER and hospital capacity of the DFW area is not completely overwhelmed. It is still a fluid situation.