Advertisement Feds want on-site look at Nebraska Medical Center's biocontainment unit Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The Ebola crisis in West Africa is the worst in history. Two American health care workers are gravely ill and will soon be flown to a hospital in Atlanta.They'll be the first Ebola patients to ever be treated in the U.S. But that begs the question: will more come here?The U.S. State Department reached out to the Nebraska Medical Center's biocontaintment patient care unit on Wednesday, saying they wanted an on-site look -- a "be prepared" move in the face of a crisis.Video: State Dept. calls on Nebraska Medical Center just in caseDoctors at NMC said they're prepared and honored to be called.It's a scenario no one wants, but here's how it could happen:"Someone gets off an airplane in Omaha or St. Louis with Ebola, and they're here already, and what do we do with them to keep the community safe?" said Dr. Phillip Smith, medical director.Patients would be safe in the 10-bed biocontainment unit -- the biggest in the country, quietly ready since 2005.Smith said it's as safe as humans can make it.Every kind of precaution from high-volume air handling, sterilization, to special medical clothing to keep the special staff safe -- and plenty of alarms at the first sign of trouble."I think our unit staff is our biggest asset here and that we have 30 healthcare providers, physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and technicians who actually all volunteer staff," said Dr. Angela Hewlett, assistant medical director.Ebola is nasty, coming on like the flu, evolving into hemorrhagic fever, attacks the body's blood clotting ability. Blood literally runs out of the body.To be clear, this is just a preparedness look by the State Department."I think what they're doing is making a road map of resources as a backup in case things spiral out of control," Smith said."We don't have an imminent plans for a patient being transferred here, however we are ready in case that is necessary," Hewlett said.Only a handful of biocontaintment locations have been called by the State Department -- they include the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control.