OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Federal officials have announced that the state of Washington will receive a five-year grant to help prepare the Pacific Northwest's regional Ebola treatment center.
State Department of Health officials say the grant will help the center better manage potential Ebola cases and patients with other infectious diseases.
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane is the response center for Region X, which includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.
The department will use the first-year's installment of $2.4 million to build capacity at Sacred Heart, which plans to establish a 10-bed isolation unit.
The grant is part of a federally funded project to build a national network of special pathogen treatment centers.
The first-year's grant will be followed by smaller amounts in the next four years, totaling $3.25 to $4.6 million.
