City of Chicago Establishes Network of Hospitals to Prepare For Possible Ebola Outbreak

Lee Edwards | As of Thursday, October 30, 2014

On Oct. 20, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that Rush University Medical Center, 1653 W. Congress Parkway; the University of Chicago Medical Center, 5841 S. Maryland Ave.; Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 251 E. Huron St.; and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, 225 E. Chicago Ave., have agreed to form a network care centers in preparation for an Ebola outbreak in Chicago.

As of Oct. 23, the CDC has confirmed only three Ebola cases within the United States of America.

“Even though the chances of an individual being diagnosed in Chicago are still extremely unlikely, we are doing everything we can to ensure our City is prepared to respond quickly and effectively,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Chicago is home to world class hospitals and providers, and I am grateful to these institutions for stepping up for our City and our nation.”

More than two months ago, the City of Chicago began working directly with local hospitals and providers to make the necessary preparations for the unlikely scenario. As part of these efforts, Mayor Emanuel convened a meeting between cabinet members, public health officials and hospital leaders to discuss the benefits of identifying a network of providers that has made intensive preparations as part of a City-wide readiness effort. Last week’s news is an outcome of that meeting.

“Chicago is strong and knows how to work together to get things done,” said CDPH Commissioner Bechara Choucair, M.D. "By creating a network of providers we are going above and beyond national guidelines to ensure that our City remains healthy and safe from infectious disease.”

In the unlikely event someone is suspected of having Ebola – either at a local healthcare provider or by first responders – CDPH will work to ensure the patient is kept in isolation following CDC protocols, that blood samples are routed appropriately for immediate testing and that the patient is transferred, in isolation, to one of the four hospitals to ensure the greatest care possible, following updated guidelines and protocols from the CDC.

As part of the City’s preparedness efforts, CDC infectious disease specialists are in Chicago this week conducting an audit for the hospitals, determining what updates or additional trainings could be implemented to further augment the hospital’s abilities to serve these roles.

In addition to their work with hospitals, CDPH has worked closely with other City Agencies as part of the City’s overall preparedness efforts. This work includes:

Participating in ongoing CDC calls regarding contact tracing issues – with prepared documents to track contacts and working to have thermometers ready for twice daily temperature checks.

Provided updated training to EMS and other first responders to reaffirm proper safety procedures for infectious diseases.

Coordinated with the Chicago Fire Department to modify 911 scripts to include questions on travel history to affected areas, in order to ensure appropriate response from first responders. Dispatchers have been trained on updates.

Outreach to community organizations – particularly those in Chicago’s West African communities – to make health professionals available to address any questions or concerns.

Created and disseminated a fact sheet for residents, including information on transmission and symptoms and translating the fact sheet into Spanish, Polish, Chinese, French and Tagalog.

Worked closely with the Chicago Department of Aviation and CDC to review and implement airport screenings for inbound passengers residing in or traveling from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – the nations hardest hit by Ebola. The new screening procedures were implemented at O’Hare, as well as Atlanta, Newark, New York City and Dulles airports.

Together, these airports account for roughly 94% of inflow from these three nations. O’Hare airport sees about 10-20 passengers/day from these nations.

Deployed CDPH-CDC assignees to O’Hare Quarantine Station to assist in screenings.

Developed and distributed guidance to local Colleges and Universities preparing for handling an unlikely case.

For more information on how the City of Chicago is preparing for a possible Ebola outbreak visit http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdph.html/ To learn more about how the CDC is managing possible Ebola outbreaks across the nation visit http://www.cdc.gov/.

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