JOHN VELIS
BOSTON — A legislative panel is trying to determine if Massachusetts is ready to deal with Ebola.
The Legislature’s Public Health Committee has scheduled an oversight hearing today to review response plans by the state should any cases be reported in Massachusetts.
State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez of Boston and Sen. John Keenan of Quincy co-chair the committee.
They’ve invited several experts to testify at the 10 a.m. hearing, including Dr. Michael VanRooyen of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health, and UMass Memorial Medical Center President Patrick Muldoon.
Gov. Deval Patrick has tried to reassure the public, noting that there have been no cases of Ebola in Massachusetts and the likelihood of the disease reaching the state is low.
He added the state’s health care system was gearing up, just in case.
Among those legislators seated on the joint committee, only two – State Rep. John Velis and Sen. Don Humason, Jr., both of Westfield – are from districts west of 495 and with Humason unable to attend today’s hearing due to a prior commitment, Velis will be the lone voice in attendance for western Mass.
“It’s going to be combination of emergency management, those in the healthcare profession, pretty much the entire gamut – what are the protocols, how are these agencies working together and how can we as politicians help?” said Velis.
Velis said he had several questions lined up for these professionals, chief among them what the state would do in the event of an Ebola outbreak outside of metro Boston.
“Is this something that exists evenly throughout the Commonwealth? If Ebola happens to break out in Springfield or Westfield, do those hospitals – Baystate, Mercy, Noble Hospital, Holyoke Medical Center – have the capabilities to handle it?” said Velis. “If I just hear about all the Boston-based hospitals and the protocols they have in place, I’m going to scream bloody murder today.”
