Markey calls for regional Ebola treatment hubs

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told President Obama to designate some hospitals as regional “Ebola treatment hubs” where staff is fully trained and prepared to contain the disease.

“We must be prepared to respond immediately and safely to any new domestic cases of Ebola that are found in our healthcare system,” Markey wrote in a letter to Obama on Monday. “It is clear that our nation’s local hospitals need additional support and guidance, including technical expertise, equipment, and extensive training for healthcare workers, in order to safely care for Ebola patients while also protecting themselves.”

{mosads}Markey’s comment came after two Dallas nurses who treated the first U.S. Ebola patient caught the deadly virus. Some have said the hospital failed to properly train its nurses on how to interact with the patient.

Markey said there are only four hospitals with biocontainment facilities in the United States and that they can only house 11 Ebola patients.

Markey said experts from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could train all healthcare workers at these regional hospital hubs to ensure safety protocols for Ebola are followed.