Lessons From New York State's Preparedness Efforts for Ebola

Preparing an entire health care system for an outbreak of a deadly infectious disease is an intensive, time-consuming process that requires collaboration and cooperation at all levels. New York achieved this goal when it became apparent that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa had the potential to spread beyond the 3 most heavily impacted countries. We discuss New York's work with health care associations to prepare the multiple tiers of the state's health care system to successfully transport, identify, diagnose, and treat the disease, while also handling clinical, consequence, and communications management of the outbreak. The massive statewide efforts laid the groundwork for managing future outbreaks and emergencies and provide a model for other states to follow. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:383-388).