New Unit at Ruby Memorial Hospital is Ebola-Ready

Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown is now equipped and prepared with what’s called an Infection Prevention and Containment Unit, complete with five isolations rooms, in the event that any sick person be admitted who has had any possible exposure to the Ebola virus.

A WVU Healthcare Ebola Task Force is now prepared for any potential encounters with the virus. Personnel from emergency medicine, infectious diseases, nursing, and several other areas of the hospital have undergone training and the hospital spent half a million dollars converting a section of its emergency department into a special unit designed to protect both patients and healthcare workers.

Medical Director of the Emergency Department, Dr. Owen Lander says the facility is modeled on facilities in the country that have already effectively contained and treated Ebola patients.

“I think it’s important to emphasize that the risk is low, but the stakes are high,” he said.

In addition to the isolation rooms, the Infection Prevention and Containment Unit includes a lab for blood tests, and specific rooms for donning and removing protective clothing and equipment. Patients who arrive at the hospital are triple-screened using protocols recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.