MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Hospitals across Tennessee report a lot of people are showing up at ERs worried they may have the ebola virus.
Tennessee Hospital Association president Craig Becker says his member hospitals say they’re seeing a lot of what he refers to as the “worried well” as fear of the virus swells.
Becker says hospitals across the state are ordering in hazmat suits and training staff to deal with an ebola case, no matter how unlikely.
“What if an ebola patient happened to show up, even in one of our clinics or something like that, to make sure that everybody understands what the protocols are…which by the way have been a moving target. The CDC has been changing those as we go along.
“Becker says if an ebola case does turn up in Tennessee, that patient would likely be transported fairly quickly to a hospital out of state that has more advanced isolation facilities.
He says how to dispose of the enormous amount of medical waste generated by an ebola patient is still an open question. Becker says the association is working with the state to get a disposal plan in place just in case.