The Greenville Hospital System, which includes Greer Memorial Hospital, offered the following response to a request for information on its Ebola protocols.
"Greenville Health System has extensive protocols in place to safely treat patients with viral hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola. Such patients would be placed in isolation, with state or national health officials immediately notified to conduct patient-contact tracing to ensure that anyone who came in contact with a symptomatic patient is monitored for the required 21-day period.
All health workers coming in contact with an Ebola patient would use enhanced contact precautions (PPE) such as gloves or even double gloves, gowns, eye protection, face mask and potentially shoe and leg covers.
"Upholstered furniture and decorative curtains would be removed from the patient room prior to use, with used linens, pillows and mattresses discarded as hazardous medical waste. All non-disposable equipment, such as portable X-ray or EKG equipment, would undergo CDC-recommended levels of cleaning and disinfecting.
"Personnel would be posted at the door to ensure consistent donning and removal of personal protective equipment. Any lab samples for those patients would likewise require additional safety protocols.
Staff involved in treatment of that patient would be notified of the Ebola diagnosis so that all proper precautions would be taken immediately."