As Minnesota preps for Ebola, readiness questions linger

Minnesota nurses say they'll file complaints with the state if they feel their workplaces are unprepared to handle Ebola. Hospital leaders, though, say they're ready.

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Orders for hospital gear are still in-process at some hospitals but supplies are adequate and there are ways of getting more gear quickly in an emergency, Minnesota Hospital Association CEO Lawrence Massa told MPR News' Phil Picardi on Thursday.

The questions come as the state prepares to handle care for any Ebola patients in Minnesota. While no cases have been found here, officials are monitoring travelers from West African countries hit by the virus. Federal health officials are assessing preparations at the four regional referral hospitals in Minnesota that will provide care if Ebola surfaces here.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed the University of Minnesota Medical Center's West Bank Campus Tuesday. CDC trainers were impressed by the university's Ebola preparations, said Dede Ouren, an infection preventionist at Fairview Health Services.

The agency did ask the medical center to create a separate space in its containment unit for nurses and doctors to remove their protective gear, Ouren added. Representatives from all four hospitals will meet again with the CDC on Friday to review any revisions in their Ebola preparedness plans.

At a candlelight vigil Wednesday night on the front lawn of the State Capitol, the Minnesota Nurses Association encouraged their members to complain to the state's occupational safety office if they feel their workplaces are unprepared for Ebola or other infectious diseases. Some are concerned that some hospitals still don't have enough protective equipment.

"You have the right to file a complaint with the Minnesota OSHA," Mary McGibbon, union vice president, said in a statement. "You have a right to call and ask for inspectors to come to your hospital to see if the equipment and preparedness plans meet federal and state law."

Massa, though, said hospital executives are confident they can get what they need quickly.

"There are regional emergency preparedness collaboratives that also have protective equipment that can be moved around," he said. "So I think we've raised the level of readiness throughout the state."