Are local hospitals prepared for an Ebola outbreak?

There is one confirmed case of Ebola in the U.S. in Dallas.

That has raised concerns about whether the disease that has killed 3,400 people in West Africa could spread here.
Federal health officials say they are confident they can keep it in contained.

“We’re exposed to a number of diseases HIV, hepatitis,” said Dr. Michael Payne with Las Palmas Medical Center.

Payne said there are safeguards to prevent the spread of Ebola.

“It’s only people who have had recent travel from West Africa or been exposed from a person who has traveled from West Africa as well,” said Payne.

The doctor says the first step in precaution is at the door.

“We ask if there’s been recent travel from West Africa to here. Obviously we need to take certain steps to prevent transmission of the virus,” said Payne.

Since the virus can be spread through any bodily fluids Payne says the next step is minimizing exposure.

“We take full contact precautions using personal protective equipment, gowns, gloves, and masks.” said Payne.

Then: patient isolation to keep the virus contained.

“We have rooms that are set up to ventilate differently. Normal rooms with air that flows freely in and out. Special rooms have ventilation that pushes air out more effectively or keep the air in,” said Payne.

Other hospitals such as Sierra Medical Center say they are prepared as well.

They sent us this statement:

“We follow precautions and protocols recommended by the Center for Disease Control in the event a patient would arrive with ebola.”

New Mexico Department of Health officials also told ABC-7 they have “a close working relationship with the CDC and will incorporate any new guidelines.”

Meanwhile Payne wants to reassure everyone they can handle a dangerous outbreak.

“We do have the measures in place to be able to soothe people’s fears here to make sure that everything is appropriately taken care of,” said Payne.

University Medical Center also says it is prepared and one very important message all the hospitals want to get across is: proper hand washing.

They say you should spend a total of about 30 seconds washing your hands using warm water,and lots of soap to scrub away most germs.