Hospitals Prepare for Ebola Scare

There are now four isolation rooms in Bellevue Hospital reserved specifically for Ebola patients. They're quarantined rooms with one hospital bed and a variety of medical equipment. Hospital staff wear two different suits to provide maximum protection from contracting the virus. Bellevue is the first New York hospital to create an Ebola ward. Ross Wilson is the chief medical officer for the Heath and Hospital Corporation. 

"They are as prepared as they possibly can be to manage and assess patients who present as potential cases of Ebola," he said.

He saId staff at Bellevue have revamped protocols and conducted multiple drills and practices at the hospital.

"To make sure that we first identify patients quickly, and that secondly we isolate them quickly, and we isolate them with the appropriate protective equipment," he said.

Wilson recommends any patients who believe they have symptoms of Ebola should present to the emergency rooms early, regardless of their ability to pay, in order to keep the virus under control.