Minnesota Legislature
Ebola threat receives $2.89 million committee approval
(UPDATED 3:05 p.m., Jan. 28)
CORRECTION: This story as posted on Jan. 27, 2015, incorrectly stated that a child was admitted to Children’s Hospital in St. Paul exhibiting symptoms of Ebola. In fact, this was not the case. To clarify, the testifier from Children’s Hospital noted that the hospital, at one time, treated a child exhibiting symptoms of the virus, which were later determined to be associated with enterovirus, not Ebola. Separately, the testifier noted a phone consultation with the Department of Health that same day about another potential case at a different facility involving a toddler, but that child was not at Children’s Hospital and the diagnosis is unknown.
The Health Department is seeking nearly $3 million in funding to pay for staff and training on the handling of Ebola cases.
Rep. Jim Knoblach (R-St. Cloud) sponsors HF264, a $13.57 million deficiency spending bill that was approved Tuesday by the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee but not before being amended to just include health and human services provisions. It was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. Sen. Richard Cohen (DFL-St. Paul) sponsors the companion, SF174, which awaits action by the Senate Finance Committee.
[MORE: Full video of Tuesday's House Health and Human Services Finance Committee hearing]
In addition, the committee approved an amendment offered by Rep. Nels Pierson (R-Rochester) to include $2 million in grants to hospitals, emergency service units and others that formed a coalition to address the threat of the disease.
“We’ve had to shift resources into Ebola because we had no funding for Ebola,” said Health Commissioner Edward Ehlinger.
Funds were spent for personal protective equipment, training on how to transport specimens and patients, lab testing and monitoring of suspected cases. Minnesota has one of 15 labs in the United States that can rapidly test for Ebola.
Dr. Paul Kettler, Unity Hospital’s vice president of medical affairs, said the hospital replaced one of its critical care units with its new Ebola laboratory.
Last November, a patient spent three days in the new lab for Ebola testing. “We thought it was the real deal,” Kettler said, but three tests returned negative results. The disease mimics symptoms of influenza and norovirus.
The Department of Health received $122,000 from the Centers for Disease Control in January for Ebola prevention and monitoring. Though federal funds are not currently available for deficiency spending, the department expects that supplemental funding will be available going forward, according to Division Director Kristen Ehresmann.
The bill would also appropriate nearly $10.48 million to the Department of Human Services, which has ongoing expenditures as part of a court-monitored settlement agreement regarding upgrades to the state security hospital. Located in St. Peter, the campus houses clients who are deemed mentally ill and dangerous. The funds are needed to pay for costs incurred to hire additional staff, to purchase and install closed-circuit cameras and to renovate the building.
Additionally, $246,000 would be provided in food assistance for non-citizens residing lawfully in Minnesota who are not eligible for traditional benefits. The Minnesota Food Assistance program fund is expected to be depleted by March at current levels of need.
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