If a person went into one of Harford County's two hospitals complaining of Ebola-like symptoms, would hospital staff be prepared to properly deal with the situation, while also calming the fears of other patients or visitors who might be present?
University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health officials scheduled two Ebola-related drills this month at the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air and Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace to determine if their health care professionals and support staff are adequately prepared.
The first drill was scheduled for Tuesday evening and the second will be next week. Hospital officials said they do not want to be too specific about the drills, but noted people who are inside either hospital will have some advance notice.
"Our objective for these drills is to test our readiness for the arrival of a patient with a suspected case of Ebola," Communications Manager Christina Cottrell stated in an email.
Cottrell said the drills will be held in the emergency departments of each hospital, and any patients and visitors in the EDs will receive fliers regarding the drills on the days they are scheduled.
Healthcare providers are remaining vigilant, even as the United States has been largely free of the Ebola virus for nearly a month.
Four people in the U.S. contracted the disease during the fall, and one person, a man who traveled from the West African nation of Liberia where the disease has claimed thousands of lives, died in a Dallas hospital.
Three other people, including two nurses who treated the victim in Dallas and a doctor who had been volunteering in Guinea, another West African country where Ebola has been raging for months, have been isolated, treated and since released.
The last Ebola patient, Dr. Craig Spencer, was released from Bellevue Hospital in New York City Nov. 11, according to CNN.
There is no cure for the Ebola virus, a hemorrhagic fever with symptoms such as bleeding from orifices, vomiting and diarrhea.
More than 6,000 people around the world have died during the current outbreak, according to World Health Organization data cited by CNN.
Harford County officials issued protocols for handling suspected Ebola cases in November.
County Health Officer Susan Kelly has spoken before the Harford County Council and the Aberdeen City Council about the effects of the disease.
She has noted the risk of death is much greater from influenza, and the people who are most at risk of getting Ebola are those who have direct contact with the bodily fluids from an Ebola victim.
"I think there are a lot of concerns, rightfully so, about Ebola, but we have to put them in perspective," Kelly told Aberdeen officials last month.