The utility and sustainability of US Ebola treatment centers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

Autor: Jocelyn J. Herstein, Paul D. Biddinger, Shawn G. Gibbs, Angela L. Hewlett, Aurora B. Le, Michelle M. Schwedhelm, John J. Lowe
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 44:643-650
ISSN: 1559-6834
0899-823X
Popis: Objective:In response to the 2014–2016 West Africa Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designated 56 US hospitals as Ebola treatment centers (ETCs) with high-level isolation capabilities. We sought to determine the ongoing sustainability of ETCs and to identify how ETC capabilities have affected hospital, local, and regional coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) readiness and response.Design:An electronic survey included both qualitative and quantitative questions and was structured into 2 sections: operational sustainability and role in the COVID-19 response.Setting and participants:The survey was distributed to site representatives from the 56 originally designated ETCs, and 37 (66%) responded.Methods:Data were coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results:Of the 37 responding ETCs, 33 (89%) reported that they were still operating, and 4 had decommissioned. ETCs that maintain high-level isolation capabilities incurred a mean of $234,367 in expenses per year. All but 1 ETC reported that existing capabilities (eg, trained staff, infrastructure) before COVID-19 positively affected their hospital, local, and regional COVID-19 readiness and response (eg, ETC trained staff, donated supplies, and shared developed protocols).Conclusions:Existing high-level isolation capabilities and expertise developed following the 2014–2016 EVD epidemic were leveraged by ETCs to assist hospital-wide readiness for COVID-19 and to support responses by other local and regional hospitals However, ETCs face continued challenges in sustaining those capabilities for high-consequence infectious diseases.
Databáze: OpenAIRE