Federal Health Officials Urge Hospitals To Watch Out For Ebola Symptoms

LANSING (WWJ) - Health officials are calling on the nation's hospitals to keep an eye out for symptoms of Ebola in any patients who have traveled from the three West African nations that have seen the greatest number of infections.

The Michigan Health & Hospital Association's Laura Watruba says they've been staying on top of all Ebola information from government agencies.

"We've been working as an information clearing house for our members," Watruba told WWJ's Dr. Deanna Lites. "Most of the information and guidelines coming out on Ebola come from the a federal level — from the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services."

"As those notifications come out our national arm — the American Hospital Association — will alert us and we all work together to make sure we get that information in the hands of the hospitals and healthcare providers," Watruba said.

Watruba said what the association has been hearing is that Michigan's hospitals are prepared to handle an infections disease situation, such as an Ebola outbreak.

"They train for these kinds of things," she said. "So certainly everyone is on alert with the Ebola diagnosis on U.S. soil; but this is something that our health care system is ready for here in Michigan."

Meantime, in Texas, one day after the CDC confirmed 26-year-old Nina Pham is the nation's second Ebola patient, her father told CBS 11 News she's "in fine spirits."  A nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Pham wasn't able to pinpoint exactly how and when she contracted the disease. [Read more at our sister site, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth].

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