Press Releases

Press Releases

October 22, 2014

Rep. Dent and House Colleagues Attend Ebola Briefing

Discussion with Physicians and Hospital Administrators Focuses on Need for Regional Care Centers and More Guidance from Washington

Rep. Charlie Dent (PA-15) and his House Colleagues Rep. Chaka Fattah (PA-2), Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-8) and Rep. Pat Meehan (PA-7) attended a briefing on the Ebola virus in Philadelphia this morning.

The briefing was held at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine. The discussion focused on the actions hospitals are taking to safely handle individuals who may be infected.

“Today’s briefing was extremely informative. I came away from it confident that hospitals serving our region are prepared to identify and isolate individuals infected with Ebola, and I am reassured to hear the work that is going into ensuring all health care workers are well informed and appropriately trained,” the Representative said. “However, it made clear that continued regional collaboration is going to be necessary to expand capacity for comprehensive treatment of the virus,” he added.

Rep. Dent also noted that the hospital officials and healthcare administrators in attendance want greater procedural input from Washington. Some health professionals noted a need for clarity and guidance regarding issues like how long to keep infected individuals in their care before transferring to one of few specially-equipped bio-containment units scattered across the country.

There was uniform agreement that the best way to stop Ebola from impacting America is by stopping it at its source.

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CONTACT: Shawn Millan (610) 770-3490

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