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

Part of: SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2022

Jocelyn J. Herstein Open the ORCID record for Jocelyn J. Herstein [Opens in a new window] ,
Paul D. Biddinger Open the ORCID record for Paul D. Biddinger [Opens in a new window] ,
Shawn G. Gibbs Open the ORCID record for Shawn G. Gibbs [Opens in a new window] ,
Angela L. Hewlett ,
Aurora B. Le Open the ORCID record for Aurora B. Le [Opens in a new window] ,
Michelle M. Schwedhelm Open the ORCID record for Michelle M. Schwedhelm [Opens in a new window]  and
John J. Lowe
Jocelyn J. Herstein*
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Paul D. Biddinger
Affiliation:
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Shawn G. Gibbs
Affiliation:
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Angela L. Hewlett
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska Nebraska Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska
Aurora B. Le
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Michelle M. Schwedhelm
Affiliation:
Nebraska Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska
John J. Lowe
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
*
Author for correspondence: Jocelyn J. Herstein, E-mail: jocelyn.herstein@unmc.edu
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Abstract

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.

Type
Original Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , April 2023 , pp. 643 - 650
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

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