HHS names Cedars-Sinai as Ebola treatment center for southwest region

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday selected the California Department of Health, in partnership with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is Los Angeles, to serve a region covering Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and the Pacific Islands.

With its selection, Cedar-Sinai becomes the 10th and final selection as an Ebola and special pathogen treatment center for HHS’s 10 regions nationwide.

“With all of the regional facilities in place, our nation’s healthcare infrastructure will be better prepared for future outbreaks of Ebola and other special pathogens, especially those requiring a high level of biocontainment and specialized infection control,” Nicole Lurie, assistant secretary for preparedness and response (ASPR) at HHS, said. “This regional network of facilities capable of treating severe, highly infectious diseases is vital to better ensuring our nation’s health security.”

Cedars-Sinai will receive approximately $3.25 million through FY 2019 to enhance the center’s treatment capabilities to care for patients with Ebola or other highly infectious diseases. The center must also meet certain requirements, including accepting patients within eight hours of being notified, having the capacity to treat at least two patients simultaneously, having respiratory infectious disease isolation capacity or negative pressure rooms, conducting quarterly training and exercises, receiving an annual readiness assessment from the National Ebola Training and Education Center, being able to treat children, and being able to safely handle infectious waste.

Cedars-Sinai was selected for the grant based upon extensive criteria publish in a funding opportunity announcement released in Feb. 2015.