Chicago hospital trains hospital workers for Ebola
With hospital workers increasingly in the spotlight of concern over the spread of the Ebola virus, a Chicago hospital held a training session Thursday for a team of medical professionals with expertise in intensive care and infection control.
Rush University Medical Center in Chicago has assembled a core team of doctors, nurses and technicians who would provide care to any Ebola patients the hospital might receive. They received hands-on training Thursday on the correct use of the highest level of protective equipment.
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is one of several U.S. airports where travelers from the affected West African countries arrive and are being screened for fever.
The training at Rush will extend to hospital workers beyond the core team and will follow guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospital officials are consulting with experts from Emory University Hospital and Nebraska Medical Center, which have successfully treated Ebola patients.
"If there is a situation we would be able to handle it," said Rush spokeswoman Deb Song. The hospital also has earmarked several ICU rooms with negative air pressure for potential Ebola patients and is constructing an anteroom to create a controlled environment for caregivers to safely put on and remove protective gear.
A series of images by Associated Press photographer Charles Rex Arbogast shows Thursday's training session.