Letter to Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Clarifying CDC Ebola Protocols

Letter

October 24, 2014

Dr. Tom Frieden
Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1609 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30333

Dear Dr. Frieden,

I write to you today to inquire about the procedures and protocols for the treatment of Ebola cases. On Wednesday, I participated in a meeting of lawmakers, hospitals and public health officials to discuss the preparedness of the Philadelphia region for an Ebola diagnosis and possible outbreak. Hospitals from our area report confidence in their ability to respond to a patient who exhibits the symptoms and warning signs of Ebola infection if one were to walk into an Emergency Room.

The officials present believed our health care facilities were well equipped and prepared to isolate and treat these patients for the initial four to eight hours after admission. Questions arose, however, on the preparedness for longer-term care of patients suspected of infection after those initial eight hours. The hospitals and other officials present indicated that procedures for continued treatment of patients after those critical first hours were ambiguous. Specifically, participants were unsure of the protocols for transport of patients to designated Ebola treatment facilities, as well as what support they could expect to receive from CDC in the event of a wider outbreak.

Another concern raised was the possibility that the capacity of the CDC's designated Ebola treatment centers would be exceeded by a wider outbreak. At present, there are only four U.S. hospitals specially equipped with isolation units necessary for long-term treatment of Ebola cases -- hospitals in Maryland, Montana, Georgia and Nebraska. But hospitals in my region are concerned that in the event of an outbreak that exceeds these facilities' capacity, they will be forced to treat Ebola patients for a longer period of time than anticipated.

Given the concerns expressed by Philadelphia area public health officials, and today's news regarding an Ebola diagnosis in New York City, I wish to inquire about the following:

-What efforts have been made to communicate procedures and protocols for hospitals dealing with Ebola patients for longer than the initial four to eight hours after admission.

-Has the CDC considered designating a hospital in various regions of the nation as a "regional center" for Ebola containment and treatment?

-What are CDC protocols for the self-quarantine of health workers -- such as the physician diagnosed in New York -- who return from Ebola afflicted areas?

Thank you in advance for your attention to these concerns.

Sincerely,

Patrick Meehan
Member of Congress

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