One of first recommendations from the governor’s new Texas Task Force on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response was to create healthcare facilities, where patients showing symptoms of Ebola could go to be treated and isolated from the public, to reduce the spread of the disease between healthcare workers.
Gov. Perry says the latest bio-containment facility will be located at the Methodist Campus For Continuing Care in Richardson. The facility would be a partnership between Dallas’ Parkland Hospital, the Methodist Hospital and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
As part of his announcement, Gov. Perry said, “In the event of another diagnosis, this facility will allow the state to act quickly to limit the virus’ reach and give patients the care they need in an environment where healthcare workers are specially trained and equipped to deal with the unique requirements of this disease.”
The governor named the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston as the state’s first Ebola treatment center, following the news that a second nurse treating Liberia-born Thomas Eric Duncan had tested positive for the disease, before flying to and from Cleveland to Dallas.
