CDC Designates Four California Hospitals as Ebola Treatment Centers

CDC has designated 35 hospitals across the country as Ebola treatment centers, including four facilities in California, the Los Angeles Times' "Nation Now" reports (Panzar, "Nation Now," Los Angeles Times, 12/2).

Background

In November, the California Department of Public Health and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued new requirements for hospitals to provide Ebola protections to staff.

The new rules were the first to be issued in the U.S. and go beyond federal standards for Ebola preparedness. They are based on existing standards for infectious disease preparedness (California Healthline, 11/26).

Details of List

The facilities designated by CDC were selected by state health authorities and hospital executives.

They also have been assessed by infection control experts from CDC to ensure that they have sufficient staffing, equipment, training and resources to provide any treatment required for an Ebola patient (Sun, Washington Post, 12/2).

All of the designated hospitals are located within 200 miles of where 80% of travelers returning from West Africa will wind up in the U.S., an Obama administration official said ("Nation Now," Los Angeles Times, 12/2).

According to the Post, officials hope to designate an additional 20 facilities to treat Ebola patients, but doing so will depend on when Congress approves the White House's emergency funding request (Washington Post, 12/2).

Hospitals Designated in California

The four California hospitals included on CDC's list of Ebola treatment centers are:

• Kaiser Oakland Medical Center;
• Kaiser South Sacramento Medical Center;
• UC-Davis Medical Center in Sacramento; and
• UC-San Francisco Medical Center ("Nation Now," Los Angeles Times, 12/2).

According to DPH, the four hospitals have a total of eight beds available to treat Ebola patients.

No facilities in Southern California were included in the list, but state health officials said some likely would be added to the list in a week, the Los Angeles Times' "L.A. Now" reports.

DPH Director Ronald Chapman said CDC this week plans to inspect:

• Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center;
• UCLA Medical Center;
• UC-San Diego Medical Center; and
• UC-Irvine Medical Center.

Chapman said DPH is "confident the CDC visits in Southern California will result in recognition that these four hospitals can also serve as Ebola treatment centers for Californians if needed" (Brown, "L.A. Now," Los Angeles Times, 12/2).