Governor Haley Hosts Ebola Roundtable

COLUMBIA, S.C. 9WOLO) — “No one in South Carolina has Ebola. We have responded to numerous reports of individuals with suspicious travel histories or suspicious symptoms. Our surveillance system is very effective in identifying these individuals and following up, but we have no known cases here,” says Dr. Linda Bell, State Epidemiologist We now know more about South Carolina’s plan to fight Ebola if it arrives in South Carolina. Already, the virus has killed thousands in Africa and sickened multiple Americans including two nurses. “I think we’re ready. We have a very, we’re very fortunate in South Carolina that we have a statewide trauma system,” says Catherine Templeton, Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control The potential threat of the virus brought on a roundtable meeting to include: DHEC, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, SLED, the South Carolina National Guard and more. Crandall Sims reporting, “At one point during the Ebola roundtable, Governor Nikki Haley told the South Carolina Hospital Association and representatives from various hospitals across the state, it wasn’t about what they know, but what they don’t know.” During the meeting, we learned DHEC is working to gather all emails for licensed health care workers in the state in case a mass email needs to be sent out. General Robert Livingston of the South Carolina National Guard reported they have decontamination and isolation equipment should it be needed. Hospitals are also continuing training efforts and MUSC, Palmetto Health along with Greenville have all volunteered to be regional intake centers for Ebola patients. “What I hope comes out of this is that everybody understands we don’t want this in South Carolina, but should it happen we are proactive, we are preparing. We will continue to prepare and we will continue to make sure that we’re ready,” says Governor Nikki Haley, R- South Carolina