The U.S. health-care system cannot handle an Ebola outbreak. The four institutions capable of “curing” an Ebola patient can care for no more than a few patients at a time. With an approximate two-week length of stay, only a handful of Ebola patients could be adequately cared for.

And has anyone considered the full cost of the intense and highly critical care required for Ebola patients – let alone the cost of flying them to one of the four health-care entities in a specially equipped private jet? Who pays for the personnel who must identify all those in contact with the Ebola patient for the prior 21 days, then monitor them and/or hazmat their homes and apartments or the planes and vehicles they traveled in? What about the special costs associated with disposing of Ebola-contaminated supplies and possibly bodies?

For all those concerned about the costs of Obamacare, wait until they know the full costs of providing Ebola care for one individual!

A practical interim solution is to inform those who are visiting Ebola-stricken areas to budget three weeks post-exposure or post-visit that they will be quarantined upon their return to the states. Perhaps it can be an opportunity to write that memoir, finish off-putting paperwork, perhaps enjoy a private retreat. Quarantining will help reduce the public’s fear and potential panic while providing valuable time for scientists and leadership to shift their attention to education and developing a coordinated response as you suggest.

And let’s be honest: If the Maine nurse does develop Ebola, I suspect she will want the best care available to cure her.

Louise Lawson

Mancos