Dive Brief:

• US officials trying to set up a network of hospitals in this country to care for Ebola patients are running into reluctance from facilities worried about steep costs, unwanted attention and the possibility of scaring away other patients.
• The reticence complicates government efforts to ensure that the country can effectively treat people with Ebola and contain possible outbreaks. Just a few facilities in the United States have special biocontainment units, which are ideal for treating Ebola, and they can handle only two or three patients at a time.
• Of the 5,000 hospitals in the United States, dozens have volunteered to treat Ebola patients, but it is not clear how many medical centers will pass muster and whether the number will be enough for the administration to meet its goal of establishing an adequate network of Ebola-ready facilities.

Dive Insight:

Hospitals are places of business, so some wariness is certainly understandable. However, a number of states are adopting or considering regulations to protect healthcare workers from Ebola, which should hopefully lessen safety concerns, if not cost concerns. Recently the California Occupational Health and Safety Administration adopted new regulations to protect its state's healthcare workers. Under the new Cal/Osha regulations issued Nov. 14, hospitals must provide workers with hazardous material suits, respirators and isolation rooms, and conduct extensive training to those working with patients suspected of having the virus. The rules are mandatory with civil penalties for hospitals that fail to comply.