MISSOULA — Administrators at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula say it was mistakenly added to a shortlist of places to transfer patients with the Ebola virus.
The hospital was among four facilities nationwide originally approved to take in Ebola patients.
But St. Patrick spokeswoman JoAnn Hoven told the Missoulian that the hospital was surprised to find itself on the list. It’s since been taken off.
St. Patrick has a special wing of its intensive care unit for treating highly infectious diseases. It was built under a contract with the federal Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, where researchers have been working on Ebola for years.
Hoven says the hospital is prepared to take in Ebola-infected lab employees and would treat patients from the communities it serves if that’s deemed appropriate.