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Source: https://www.yahoo.com/health/only-6-of-u-s-hospitals-are-equipped-to-handle-ebola-101105027082.html
Only 6% of U.S. Hospitals Are Equipped to Handle Ebola
Laura TedescoOctober 27, 2014
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas has come under fire for failing to properly handle the first Ebola case to arrive stateside. But a new survey by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) suggests that the majority of U.S. hospitals are similarly ill-prepared to receive unplanned Ebola patients.
From October 10th to 15th, APIC asked 1,039 infection prevention personnel at U.S. hospitals this question: How prepared is your facility to receive a patient with the Ebola virus? Only 6 percent thought their hospital was well equipped to tackle such a case, even though 81 percent had initiated Ebola training for their staff. Five percent said their facility wasn?t prepared at all.
A big part of the problem: a shortage of staff focused on warding off infection. Among the hospitals surveyed, 51 percent had just one infection prevention expert on staff or none at all. Forty-two percent had only two to five preventionists.
It?s hard to say exactly how many infection preventionists the average U.S. hospital should employ, since more than the number of inpatient beds needs to be considered, said Linda Greene, R.N., an infection preventionist at Highland Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., and a former board member of APIC...
Only 6% of U.S. Hospitals Are Equipped to Handle Ebola
Laura TedescoOctober 27, 2014
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas has come under fire for failing to properly handle the first Ebola case to arrive stateside. But a new survey by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) suggests that the majority of U.S. hospitals are similarly ill-prepared to receive unplanned Ebola patients.
From October 10th to 15th, APIC asked 1,039 infection prevention personnel at U.S. hospitals this question: How prepared is your facility to receive a patient with the Ebola virus? Only 6 percent thought their hospital was well equipped to tackle such a case, even though 81 percent had initiated Ebola training for their staff. Five percent said their facility wasn?t prepared at all.
A big part of the problem: a shortage of staff focused on warding off infection. Among the hospitals surveyed, 51 percent had just one infection prevention expert on staff or none at all. Forty-two percent had only two to five preventionists.
It?s hard to say exactly how many infection preventionists the average U.S. hospital should employ, since more than the number of inpatient beds needs to be considered, said Linda Greene, R.N., an infection preventionist at Highland Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., and a former board member of APIC...