Ebola Preparedness at Children's National

Children’s National Hospital has the expertise and facilities to care for pediatric patients with a wide range of communicable diseases, including Ebola. With a location in the nation’s capital with a robust international population, Children’s National takes extra care to be prepared for any situation.

Our Facilities

We have created a specialized Isolation Unit on our main campus in Washington, D.C. This unit has a separate entrance and air handling system, designed to completely section off an area of our facility if needed. The unit also has a separate entrance to an intensive care setting, where there is a dedicated space to care for patients (and a parent or guardian) in complete isolation. Here, patients can receive care and treatment that is kept separate from other patients and highly trafficked areas.

The care team in this unit will be dedicated to working with those patients with a suspected or confirmed case of Ebola, ensuring a safe and protected environment for all our patients and visitors.

Extensive Preparation 

For several months, Children’s National has been actively conducting comprehensive education and training—including cross training with the National Institutes of Health—to fully prepare our staff to treat a potential patient and to ensure the health and safety of all employees, patients and visitors. Departments also have been running practice drills to make sure everyone is well prepared.

To date, Children’s National has not had any confirmed Ebola cases. We stand ready to care for any child with this disease while maintaining the safety of all our staff, patients and visitors.