title: Ebola at the National Institutes of Health: Perspectives From Critical Care Nurses.
abstract: Infectious disease events were in the headlines in 2014. West Africa experienced the worst Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak ever recorded. The world was stunned when the deadly virus began to spread to other countries. The health care system in the United States responded by designating specialized centers to care for patients with EVD. All health care workers must understand the isolation processes involved in caring for these patients. Using personal protective equipment is imperative and requires adjustments in how care is provided. Staffing patterns must be altered to provide safe care, while maintaining safety of health care workers. This article provides perspectives of the critical care nurse manager and bedside nurse who participated in the development of the care processes for patients with EVD at the National Institutes of Health to help health care colleagues better understand issues experienced and to help prepare them if they encounter patients with EVD.
authors.affiliation: Susan S. Johnson is Nurse Manager, Department of Nursing, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Dr, Bldg 10-CRC 3SWS-ICU, Bethesda, MD 20892 (sjohnson@nih.gov). Neil Barranta is Clinical Nurse Manager, Department of Nursing, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. Dan Chertow is Assistant Clinical Investigator, Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Susan S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Barranta
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chertow
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D064648:Critical Care Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014481:United States