AP-GfK Poll: Many doubt hospitals can handle Ebola

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and EMILY SWANSON

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans have some confidence that the U.S. health care system will prevent Ebola from spreading in this country, but they're not so sure their local hospital can safely handle a patient, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll.

Amid worry here, most Americans say the U.S. also should be doing more to stop Ebola in West Africa. Health authorities have been clear: Until that epidemic ends, travelers could unknowingly carry the virus anywhere.

"It seems to me we have a crisis of two things. We have a crisis of science, and either people don't understand it or ... they don't believe it," said Dr. Joseph McCormick, an Ebola expert at the University of Texas School of Public Health. And, "we have a crisis in confidence in government."

Some findings from the AP-GfK poll:

HEALTH CARE GETS MIXED REVIEWS

FULL story at link.



President Barack Obama speaks to the media about the government{2019}s Ebola response, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141023/us-med--ebola-ap_poll-7582cdd81f.html

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Based on reality, actually.

Wasn't it in the news that only 4 hospitals have proper bio containment facilities for Ebola type patients, and can only handle 2-3 patients at a time?
Our hospitals are not built to handle any mass casualty problems. Simply not enough beds.
Or staff.
Even the current trend of ERs being used as walk in clinics has stressed hospitals.
Can't blame the hospitals, per se.
CAN blame the politicians for not supporting health care needs.

[jwirr]

2. It does not surprise me that a Texas U official blames science and government for the problems with

unprepared hospitals. What we hear from most Texas pols is the same thing for every problems we face. Being anti-science and anti-government is the R philosophy.

I am sure that small rural hospitals would not be prepared but if this turned into a real epidemic in our country many states would work with the feds and do what is necessary. We should not forget that full page apology made by the Texas hospital for not listening when they were warned. They were warned in August and did not even get the basics of isolation started. Human err is what it was. Not willful neglect on the part of either science or the government.

When TB was the problem they set aside a large hospital in various areas of each state to allow the patients to be isolated and I am assuming that the staff in these hospitals wore protective gear of some kind.

IF this were a full scale epidemic instead of three cases in the same area that is probably what we would do again. However, I suspect that the 4 hospitals that are set up for that unexpected emergency are able to take care of many more than a couple of patients at a time. The reason they were sent to different ones of these 4 was because they were testing them out. And these hospitals are doing great. The science and the government did not fail in any of these hospitals.

[otohara]

3. Many Don't Know Where Liberia Is

either.

Merika

[magical thyme]

4. their local hospitals will not be handling Ebola

beyond passing any suspect on to the CDC-certified regional hospitals that will be designated Ebola treatment centers.

The large hospital my lab system is affiliated with is already biohazard trained, has plans in place to use their negative pressure TB-isolation ward for treating Ebola patients, and was already using WHO protocol when the CDC was still saying droplet precautions were all that was needed.

They learned from Dallas -- for Mr. Duncan, sadly, the hard way. But at least his death was not in vaine.

Health Officials Setting Up Network Of Hospitals To Handle Ebola Patients
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/22/ebola-hospital-network_n_6030936.html


CHICAGO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - U.S. health officials are setting up a network of about 20 go-to hospitals to handle the care of an Ebola patient rather than rely on any facility to treat the virus, according to comments from a senior administration official.

The United States is moving "fairly rapidly" to a "sort of a tiered and regionalized approach to Ebola care," Dr. Nicole Lurie, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, said on a call with hospital administrators on Monday, according to an official transcript.