(NaturalNews) U.S. health officials may be preparing for a new wave of Ebola patients in the country after designating 35 American hospitals as treatment centers.

In a press release, the Department of Health and Human Services said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that some state officials have identified the hospitals as Ebola treatment centers, and more are expected to be designated as such in the coming weeks.

The statement also said that personnel at the Ebola treatment centers have been assessed to have the trained staff, enough equipment, technical capabilities, overall resources and best training to handle cases of Ebola, while at the same time minimizing risk to healthcare workers.

The announcement comes on the heels of a separate report that said the latest death figures in West Africa, site of the current Ebola outbreak, have risen to around 7,000 since March, when the epidemic began.

What are they NOT telling us?

"As long as Ebola is spreading in West Africa, we must prepare for the possibility of additional cases in the United States," CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said in the press release. "We are implementing and constantly strengthening multiple levels of protection, including increasing the number of hospitals that have the training and capabilities to manage the complex care of an Ebola patient. These hospitals have worked hard to rigorously assess their capabilities and train their staff."

The CDC said the healthcare centers were chosen due to several criteria, as noted above, and in consultation with local healthcare officials and the administrative teams of each facility. Also, the hospitals were assessed on-site by a Rapid Ebola Preparedness team from the federal health agency. In addition, the CDC has released guidance to states and their healthcare institutions and centers helping them identify and designate Ebola treatment facilities.

The HHS state noted that, because of active monitoring from Ebola-stricken countries, "federal health officials have a clear sense of where travelers from affected countries in West Africa are going and where Ebola treatment centers are most likely to be needed."

"The hospitals on the list supplement the biocontaiment units at Emory University Hospital, Nebraska Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which have treated Ebola patients in this epidemic," FOX News reported.

List of hospitals so far

The 35 hospitals with Ebola treatment centers so far include:

• Kaiser Oakland Medical Center; Oakland, Calif.
• Kaiser South Sacramento Medical Center; Sacramento, Calif.
• University of Calif. Davis Medical Center; Sacramento, Calif.
• University of Calif. San Francisco Medical Center; San Francisco, Calif.
• Emory University Hospital; Atlanta, Ga.
• Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago; Chicago, Ill.
• Northwestern Memorial Hospital; Chicago, Ill.
• Rush University Medical Center; Chicago, Ill.
• University of Chicago Medical Center; Chicago, Ill.
• Johns Hopkins Hospital; Baltimore, Md.
• University of Maryland Medical Center; Baltimore, Md.
• National Institutes of Health Clinical Center; Bethesda, Md.
• Allina Health's Unity Hospital; Fridley, Minn.
• Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota; St. Paul, Minn.
• Mayo Clinic Hospital; Minneapolis, Minn.
• University of Minnesota Medical Center, West Bank Campus, Minneapolis; Rochester, Minn.
• Nebraska Medicine; Omaha, Neb.
• North Shore System LIJ/Glen Cove Hospital; Glen Cove, New York
• Montefiore Health System; New York City, New York
• New York-Presbyterian/Allen Hospital; New York City, New York
• NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation/HHC Bellevue Hospital Center; New York City, New York
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital; New Brunswick, New Jersey
• The Mount Sinai Hospital; New York City, New York
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Philadelphia, Pa.
• Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pa.
• University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Galveston, Texas
• Methodist Hospital System in collaboration with Parkland Hospital System and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Richardson, Texas
• University of Virginia Medical Center; Charlottesville, Va.
• Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center; Richmond, Va.
• Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Milwaukee, Wis.
• Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin - Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee; Milwaukee, Wis.
• UW Health - University of Wisconsin Hospital, Madison, and the American Family Children's Hospital, Madison; Madison, Wis.
• MedStar Washington Hospital Center; Washington, DC
• Children's National Medical Center; Washington DC
• George Washington University Hospital; Washington DC

"More than 80 per cent of returning travelers from Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa live within 200 miles (320 km) of a designated Ebola treatment center," the CDC said.

Learn all these details and more at the FREE online Pandemic Preparedness course at www.BioDefense.com

Sources:

http://www.sciencetimes.com

http://www.foxnews.com

http://www.naturalnews.com/z047888_Ebola_pandemic_treatment_centers_CDC.html

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