HHS has funded three hospitals to train and prepare other U.S. healthcare facilities for Ebola and other emerging threats. The three hospitals, together with the HHS' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be the National Ebola Training and Education Center.
The ASPR and CDC will provide $12 million over the next five years to the following three hospitals:
- Emory University Hospital (Atlanta)
- University of Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Medicine (Omaha)
- Bellevue Hospital Center (New York City)
All three hospitals have successfully treated Ebola patients.
Since December 2014, Emory University Hospital and UNMC have been working with the CDC to train healthcare workers from across the country on infection control and patient care for Ebola sufferers. This new effort will expand on that work.
"The ongoing Ebola epidemic in West Africa is proof that a threat anywhere can be a threat everywhere; the United States must continue to prepare," said Tom Frieden, MD, the director of the CDC. "Hospitals are often the first place where a new disease threat is recognized. This new center will help our hospitals and healthcare workers prepare to handle new threats and safely care for patients."
In addition to this new national treatment center, HHS also recently announced nine regional Ebola treatment centers that have enhanced capabilities to treat Ebola patients and other patients with a highly infectious disease.