U of M Named Regional Ebola Center

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The University of Minnesota Medical Center has been named a regional treatment center for patients with Ebola and other highly infectious diseases.

The Minnesota Department of Health says it has received a federal grant to work with the university to establish the Ebola treatment center. The five-year grant is for about $3.25 million.

The money will be used to modify the hospital's containment unit so it can treat two Ebola patients at one time, and eventually expand to treat four patients at once.

The university's medical center is one of nine regional centers announced Friday by the federal government. The hospital will accept Ebola patients from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana if local facilities can't provide sufficient care.