Minnesota Hospitals Prepared To Handle Ebola Cases

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota hospitals are among those around the country making sure their prepared to handle any potential cases of Ebola.

Hennepin County Medical Center already had a 4-hour Ebola preparedness drill planned before the case in Dallas surfaced last week. Organizers say most of the lessons learned from the drill are minor. But HCMC did discover a communication gap in its electronic medical records system. Crucial questions that triage nurses ask patients about fever and travel history weren't easily visible in electronic medical charts for all health providers to see.

The Minnesota Department of Health has been encouraging hospitals to post more signs in their emergency departments and clinics reminding patients to disclose if they've traveled in the past 21 days.