The Utility and Sustainability of US Ebola Treatment Centers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Title

The Utility and Sustainability of US Ebola Treatment Centers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Subject

Research

Description

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 aimed to determine ongoing sustainability of ETCs and identify how ETC capabilities have impacted hospital, local, and regional COVID-19 readiness and response.

Creator

Jocelyn J Herstein, Paul D Biddinger, Shawn G Gibbs, Angela L Hewlett, Aurora B Le, Michelle M Schwedhelm, John J Lowe

Date

2022-02-22

Type

Publication

Citation

Herstein, J. J., P. D. Biddinger, S. G. Gibbs, A. L. Hewlett, A. B. Le, M. M. Schwedhelm, and J. J. Lowe. 2022. "The Utility and Sustainability of US Ebola Treatment Centers during the COVID-19 Pandemic." Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol:1-33. doi: 10.1017/ice.2022.43.

Abstract

Objective:

Design:

An electronic survey included both qualitative and quantitative questions and was structured into two 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; 37 (66%) responded.

Methods:

Data were coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results:

Of the 37 responding ETCs, 33 (89%) reported they were still operating while 4 had decommissioned. ETCs that maintain high-level isolation capabilities incurred a mean of $234,367 in expenses per year. All but one ETC reported that existing capabilities (e.g., trained staff, infrastructure) before COVID-19 positively affected their hospital, local, and regional COVID-19 readiness and response (e.g., ETCs 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 support response for other local and regional hospitals However, ETCs face continued challenges in sustaining those capabilities for high-consequence infectious diseases.