One of the largest hospitals in metro Atlanta says it’s prepared if Ebola spreads here.

Dr. Alan Bier, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Gwinnett Medical Center, says the hospital is practicing three keys: detection, protection, and response.

He says staff, not only at the hospital, but also at all affiliated sites, have been trained to ask patients if they have travel to an affected country and if they have presented any symptoms of the virus.

“The next step, if patients answer positive to both of those questions and are deemed to be at any risk at all, is to immediately put a mask on them and put them into isolation,” Bier tells WSB’s Sandra Parrish.

In fact, he says staff members have had a few occasions over the past week to test those procedures on patients thought to be at risk.

“On all those occasions, it’s turned out those patients had not been at risk because when we drilled down and got to the details of their travel history and contact history, they really did not present a risk; but it was gratifying that the training that we’ve done with our staff has made them so aware of the situation that they’re taking the proper steps,” says Bier.

He says the hospital has a sufficient supply of protective gear for its staff which has been trained on how to use it.

Right now the hospital is working on developing dedicated teams, staffed with volunteers, to specifically deal with an Ebola patient.

It’s also working on logistics including how to transport the patient, how to dress them for that transport, and what to do with any equipment, such as wheelchairs, that are used.

“We’re developing protocols for all those contingencies in order to best protect our associates, our patients, and the community,” says Bier.