Two EMSA employees transfer Stefanie White in an isolation pod for transport to Will Rogers Airport on Thursday morning at Norman Regional Hospital. White works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and was playing the role of an Ebola patient during a drill Wednesday and Thursday. [Photo provided by Norman Regional Hospital]

NORMAN — Oommachan John's shift registering emergency room patients at Norman Regional Hospital on Wednesday took an unexpected turn when a woman walked in with flu-like symptoms — and said she'd recently traveled to West Africa.

John, a patient registration supervisor, knew her headache, abdominal pain and fatigue could have any number of relatively benign causes, but that they also could indicate infection with Ebola. He told the triage nurse the patient needed a mask and to get her to the isolation room immediately, so other patients wouldn't be at risk.

Shane Cohea, the hospital's safety director, almost started cheering as he watched the hand-off on a video monitor in the basement. John and the triage nurse had done everything they could to minimize the risk to other patients, he said.

“They exceeded our expectations, because Ebola hasn't been in the news lately,” he said.