Griffin Hospital was on alert Saturday to protect against Ebola after a man who had recently traveled to Liberia was brought to the emergency room.
The man, whose name was not released, was brought in by ambulance late Saturday. It wasn’t clear where the man lives. A source told the Valley Indy the man was brought to the hospital from Shelton.
The man did not exhibit Ebola-like symptoms, but hospital officials enacted their protocols as a precaution based on the man’s travel history.
“The presenting condition was not consistent with any Ebola concerns,” spokesman Ken Roberts said. “But based on an abundance of caution, we enacted our protocols.”
Roberts said the man had just returned from Liberia about 24 hours before being admitted to the hospital.
“He had been screened at JFK (airport, upon his return to the U.S.), but he had some issues that caused him to be brought to the ER,” Roberts said.
Those procedures included putting the man in an isolation in a predetermined part of the hospital and the use of “personal protective equipment“ to protect workers.
To the general public, the personal protective equipment looks like hazmat suits.
By Sunday the hospital had “ruled out any heightened risk for Ebola,” Roberts said. The hospital consulted with the Centers for Disease Control and the state health department.
“The patient was taken off our heightened protocol,” Roberts said.
At about 4 p.m. Sunday, the man was transferred to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment.
By the time he left Derby, he was being treated in the manner as any other patient.
