Georgia officials outline Ebola response amid political backdrop

Susan Grant, chief nurse executive at Emory Healthcare and associate dean of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Frederick Quinn, professor of infectious diseases, University of Georgia

Charley English, director, Georgia Emergency Management Agency

Maj. Gen. Jim Butterworth, adjutant general, Georgia National Guard

Miguel Southwell, general manager, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

Michael Geisler, chief operating officer, city of Atlanta

Scott Kroell, CEO/administrator, Liberty Regional Medical Center

Courtney Terwilliger, chairman, Georgia Association of Emergency Medical Services

Brenda Rowe, associate professor, Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, Mercer University

Jody Barrow, superintendent of Fayette County Schools and president of the Georgia School Superintendent Association

Doug Patten, chief medical officer, Georgia Hospital Association

Gov. Nathan Deal and his top health aide outlined plans Monday for a regional network of hospitals trained to respond to Ebola infections and named a task force charged with preparing the state for the deadly virus.

The state has also stepped up monitoring of residents and others who traveled from West Africa, where the outbreak has killed more than 4,500, through Atlanta’s busy airport. The governor said health officials would rely on Emory University, which has already treated three infected patients.

“We are doing everything that we can to be prepared to respond in the event that something does occur,” said Deal.

The governor’s office has received emails and calls from nervous residents concerned with the state’s response. Deal, facing re-election, has also been the target of increasing criticism from Democrat Jason Carter and Libertarian Andrew Hunt, who claim he’s had a lackluster answer to the threat.

Deal’s 13-person task force will be led by Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, his commissioner of public health, and includes experts from Emory University and the University of Georgia. The general manager of Atlanta’s airport, the leader of Georgia’s emergency response agency and the head of the Georgia National Guard are also on the panel.

Fitzgerald said the state is forming a network of at least four hospitals, including Emory’s facility, to handle possible Ebola cases. She declined to name which hospitals would receive the designation, but said each would be properly stocked with essential equipment such as Hazmat suits. The state is also canvassing other medical facilities to ensure they have necessary materials, she said.

The governor’s announcement comes as Deal’s opponents continue to remind voters of his comment that “water kills the Ebola virus.” Medical experts advise that disinfectants such as soap or bleach are more effective at killing the virus than water alone.

“It’s important more than anything else that our top leadership is communicating effectively, that our top leadership is spreading appropriate information,” Carter said at a Sunday debate. “And I do believe that it was inappropriate last week for the governor to say that water cures Ebola.”

Antsy residents have sent a surge of inquiries to the governor’s office seeking details about the state’s Ebola plans. A records request showed some wanted him to train the Georgia National Guard to respond to a potential outbreak, while others asked him to back a travel ban, a move only the federal government could enforce.

“Stop Ebola from entering the U.S.,” said one voter. “Refuse entry, quarantine them, whatever. Just do not allow them on American soil until certain they do not harbor Ebola. The virus will wreck our economy and destroy families.”

Deal, who has said he favors short-term travel restrictions, said he will participate in the work of the panel, which is set to meet this week. He rejected the notion that his initial announcement about the panel, which came about an hour before Sunday evening’s debate, was timed with politics in mind.

“This is the appropriate thing to do,” Deal said. “This is what we try to do in Georgia - to get ahead of the issues. That’s exactly what this is designed to do.”