At the Texas Medical Center, hospital executives are now considering a preventive measure known as reverse quarantine as a means of preventing a potential contamination considering the scale of the Ebola outbreak that is now happening in West Africa. The idea of reverse quarantine is to keep healthy doctors, or other medical practitioners, away from patients infected with the virus to make sure that they do not have any symptoms of an ongoing infection.
Because of its reputation for being the largest medical district, the Texas Medical Center is home to several medical institutions with a collective number of more than 100,000 employees. It is also a hotspot for medical talent from all over the world, which means that they can attract medical professionals who have worked or have relatives in the areas that are now affected by the Ebola outbreak.
Dr. Kenneth Mattox, chief of staff for Ben Taub Hospital, proposed that members of the hospital staff who have traveled to the affected West African countries of Nigeria, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, and have been exposed to the outbreak, should be asked to quarantine themselves and steer clear of patients for a period of 21 days upon their return to Houston. Dr. Mattox, in an interview with the Texas Tribune said that, "I have recommended that there be a strong consideration that this be done in the interest of public health." The Baylor Hospital executives are now considering the proposal and, if approved, it could turn out to be one of the most ardent preventive strategies to be implemented in the state of Texas.
A spokesperson for Baylor Hospital, Glenna Picton, said that they are still in the process of accumulating information that would help them decide which preventive measures should be put in place. "We hope to craft a policy that will fit our own particular needs. The reverse quarantine Dr. Mattox mentioned is one option, but no policy has been put in place at Baylor College of Medicine at this time."
