If anyone in San Diego were to be diagnosed with Ebola, they'd go to the UC San Diego Medical Center.
Last week, the California public health department identified five hospitals in the state that were prepared to treat an Ebola patient, and this site in Hillcrest was the only one listed in San Diego.
Over the past month, the hospital has been sealing off an infectious disease control unit from the rest of the building. It would keep Ebola from escaping with negative air pressure, advanced waste disposal, bedside lab space and nurses observing everything from the outside.
After treating a patient, nurses would exit into a separate room where they'd receive instructions from an observer on the proper way to remove protective space suits.
Related: State Outlines Ebola Quarantine Rules; 3 In San Diego County Being Monitored
Dr. Jay Doucet, medical director for emergency preparedness, said volunteer nurses have received new in-person training on safely caring for one or two Ebola patients.
"We've got a little over 50 people trained," Doucet said. "We'd like to have all of our volunteers, close to 100, trained. But we could take (an Ebola patient) now if we had to."
But some staff still have concerns about what happens outside this unit.
"What if somebody walks in the front of the hospital and asks to be directed to the emergency department?" said Michael D. Jackson, a nurse in the emergency department and vice president of the National Nurses United union. "Not every patient comes in the traditional route."
Doucet said emergency room nurses have received additional training on screening for Ebola and transferring patients to this isolation unit. He believes the hospital is prepared to handle an Ebola patient, wherever they might show up.
So far, there have been no confirmed Ebola cases in California.
