Hospitals across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex are preparing for possible cases of Ebola, one day after officials confirmed a patient in Dallas had tested positive for the deadly virus.
Dr. Alexander Eastman, the disaster medical director for Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, said his hospital has beefed up patient screening at every hospital entrance.
Patients are now asked not only about their symptoms, but also about where they've traveled in the past three weeks and with whom they've been in contact.
"We take every threat to the citizens of Dallas County exquisitely seriously, and this is no different," Eastman said.
In the past six weeks, the hospital has screed more than 30,000 patients, Eastman said. Out of those, 16 had recently traveled to countries where the virus is present, and out of those, four required secondary screening.
Even though so far no one has required an actual Ebola test, Eastman said his team is ready if they suspect someone could be infected with the virus.
"The isolation would begin immediately upon presentation — whether they present to our emergency department, whether they present to our urgent care or whether they present to one of our out-patient sites," Eastman said.
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"We have plenty of space that's capable for isolating these patients from the rest of the hospital population and to safely take care of them," he said.
Eastman said a suspected patient would be put in a trauma room with a sliding glass door, as opposed to a curtain, to keep them from other patients.
Anyone who entered the room would be required to be covered from head to toe, wearing a gown, a mask, eye shield, gloves and a hat.
The goal is to keep body fluids from spreading.
"What's most important is we take them off in a specified way and dispose of them where none of the blood or bodily fluids ever gets in contact with anything else," Eastman said. "All of this stuff, once it's used, will go into biohazard bags and be incinerated. None of this stuff will ever be used again."
Eastman said his hospital is taking the utmost protection to keep everyone safe — "so we're ready for whatever direction this takes us."
John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth is also taking measures to better screen its patients.
As of Wednesday, staff members are not only asking all incoming patients if they have recently traveled to the Western African nations where Ebola is present, but they also are asked if they have been in contact with anyone who has traveled to those countries - Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone or Nigeria, according to a statement from JPS Hospital.
In addition to those questions, patients are also asked about symptoms, including a fever of 101.5 degrees or higher, severe headache, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea, the statement read.
Anyone who answers, "Yes" to all three questions will be immediately isolated, according to JPS
911 call takers are being instructed to better screen callers in Tarrant County, as well.
People who call 911 will now be asked about specific symptoms related to Ebola and other infectious diseases, according to Matt Zavadsky, public affairs director of MedStar, the ambulance and 911 service for Fort Worth and 14 other cities in Tarrant County.
The goal will be for MedStar to better prepare its EMS teams, as well as other first responders like firefighters and police officers, for the possible hazards they may encounter.
"[It is] so that we actually work better together to make sure that we're being as safe as we can as this potentially infectious patient moves through the healthcare system," Zavadksy told NBCDFW.
NBC 5's Ben Russell contributed to this report.
