At least two of the Lehigh Valley's health care organizations are prepared to deal with the Ebola epidemic.

Spokespersons for Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke's University Health Network said that policies are in place to deal with Ebola.

A spokesperson for Sacred Heart Hospital could not be reached in time for the newspaper deadline for Lehigh Valley Press.

A spokesperson for Lehigh Valley International Airport also could not be reached in time for the newspaper deadline for Lehigh Valley Press.

"Our hospital has done several things in preparing for Ebola or any other emerging infectious disease," Terry Burger, RN, Lehigh Valley Health Network's director of infection control, stated in an email response to a Lehigh Valley Press query.

"St. Luke's University Health Network is following the CDC [United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines regarding Ebola protocols," Denise Rader, St. Luke's University Health Network Director, Network Media Relations, stated in an email response to a Lehigh Valley Press query.

As of Lehigh Valley Press newspapers' deadlines, email responses to an Ebola preparedness Lehigh Valley Press query were not received.

Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian diagnosed with Ebola virus last month, died last week. Duncan was the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S.

Nina Pham, a nurse at Dallas' Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, who treated Duncan, contracted Ebola. Pham is the first person said to have contracted the virus in the U.S. Pham was reported to have worn protective gear when in contact with Duncan.

According to the CDC web site, as of Oct. 10, based on reports from the World Health Organization updates based on information reported by the Ministries of Health, there are 8,400 Ebola cases, 4,656 laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases and 4,033 Ebola-related deaths.

The 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, affecting many nations in West Africa.

At Kennedy, Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare, Newark Liberty and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, airports, Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection agents are to screen travelers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, taking their temperature and observing them for other Ebola symptoms.

Spokespersons for St. Luke's University Health Network and Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) said both institutions are taking measures over and above CDC guidelines.

Stated Rader, "Additionally, St. Luke's has an inter-disciplinary team which is meeting weekly to ensure that the hospitals and outpatient areas are prepared to screen and to care for patients with Ebola."

Burger listed LVHN's Ebola preparedness response:

Educational materials prepared and distributed across the Network [LVHN];

Signage prepared and distributed;

Clinical guidelines distributed to all providers;

Supplies stockpiled;

Comprehensive Ebola policy developed;

Ongoing education provided;

Guidance provided for appropriate personal protective attire and procedures for donning and doffing equipment distributed and demonstrated (prevent transmission);

Multiple educational outreach in-services provided;

Initial screening and surveillance guidelines established and communicated (early identification);

Identified isolation locations (containment);

Reinforced communication guidelines; and

Collaborated with a multi-disciplinary group when preparing guidelines and worked within auspices of Emergency Preparedness.