TAKING ACTION. Here are some examples of how areas in the United States and health‑care systems have become more proactive since the current Ebola epidemic began.

Here are some examples of how areas in the United States and health‑care systems have become more proactive since the current Ebola epidemic began.

In Brooklyn Park, which has a large Liberian population, police and firefighters will be taking additional precautions in light of the Ebola outbreak. They will wear eye shields and facemasks, as well as gloves, when responding to calls involving flu‑like symptoms. They will also ask anyone with flu‑like symptoms questions about any foreign travel. This includes not just the Liberians but the entire population of the city.

In New Jersey, all patients at Hackensack University Medical Center are screened for Ebola regardless of whether they’ve recently traveled to areas affected by Ebola, and the state reportedly provides regular Ebola health alerts to hospitals and other local health‑care providers.

Dallas ambulance workers have become extra vigilant in cleaning and disinfecting ambulances after patient transport. An anti‑microbial is sprayed on the stretcher, the straps, the rails, and anything else that might have been touched, and is left to soak for at least ten minutes before they wipe down the stretcher. “It’s the universal precautions on steroids,” said Dr. Frank Wright, the safety director of CareFlite ambulance service.

In Louisiana, the top education board has approved new school safeguards against the Ebola virus and other communicable diseases, including authorizing the closing of schools in the wake of a health crisis. Several Texas schools were closed when it was learned that some of their students were on the airplane with Ebola patient Amber Vinson.

Major airports now perform regular Ebola screenings on travelers from Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone (more about this in the next chapter).

In addition, the nation’s largest union of registered nurses has called on President Obama to mandate uniform standards at US hospitals to protect health‑care workers from the Ebola virus.