CHOP Designated As Possible Site For Ebola Treatment
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia confirmed Thursday that it has been designated as one of several pediatric hospitals in the United States that may be called upon to provide medical care for any child who contracts Ebola.
"The likelihood of an Ebola outbreak in the United States is extremely low, however, if a pediatric patient should need care for Ebola in this country, CHOP is one of the sites that has agreed to provide care," said Dr. Julia Shaklee Sammons, Medical Director and Hospital Epidemiologist for CHOP's Department of Infection Prevention and Control in a statement. "It is important for our staff and patient families to know that CHOP is prepared to safely care for a patient with Ebola without compromising care for other patients or protection for our clinical teams."
The hospital could treat U.S. children being evacuated from West Africa or care for children diagnosed while on U.S. soil. Whatever the situation, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia say it is ready.
"Using guidance from the CDC in order to be prepared to for the potential of having to care for a patient with suspected or confirmed Ebola," Dr. Sammons said in an interview with CBS 3 Eyewitness News.
The hospital created an "Internal Ebola Task Force" in August that has been intensively planning since then to address all of the processes that are necessary to safely care for a patient while maintaining normal clinical care for other patients. The hospital says it:
- Instituted a screening protocol to identify at-risk patients in the Emergency Department and through the Ambulatory Care phone triage system;
- Ensured that proper personal protective equipment (PPE) is available;
- Continued to employ ongoing staff training on the proper and reliable use of PPE.
"Education is critical and it's something that needs to be repeated again and again, so we have developed policies and procedures around the safe management of a patient with suspected Ebola," Dr. Sammons said.
Dr. Sammons also stressed that the chances of an Ebola outbreak among children in Philadelphia is extremely low, but the hospital will be ready just in case.
CBS 3's Matt Rivers contributed to this report.
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