Texas Children's Hospital announced plans to build a $16 million special isolation unit at its West Campus along I-10 in Katy. The eight-bed unit will be specifically for children with highly contagious infectious diseases, such as Ebola, pandemic influenza, enterovirus-68 and others, officials said.

"We will build a state-of-the-art isolation unit designed and staffed to provide the highest quality care and treatment for infants and children with serious or life-threatening infectious diseases of public health significance, always with the greatest possible margin of safety," said Dr. Mark Kline, physician-in-chief at Texas Children's and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. "We believe this will be an indispensable resource to our local community, Texas and the nation."

Only four patient biocontainment units equipped and staffed to care for patients with contagious infectious diseases exist in the entire country, hospital officials said.

This isolation unit at Texas Children's will incorporate the latest scientific and technological approaches to biocontainment, officials said, including negative air pressure, laminar airflow, high-efficiency particulate air filtration, separate ventilation, anterooms, biosafety cabinets, a point-of-care laboratory, special security access, autoclaves and incinerators.

There will be two levels of protection from airborne particles as well as a comprehensive waste management plan, among other safety features.

The new unit will be operational within nine months and cost about $16 million to build, officials said.

Battling Ebola

Since the summer, Texas Children's has been implementing a detailed plan to identify, isolate and treat suspected cases of Ebola, if necessary, officials said. As a result, following a visit from the Centers for Disease Control, the State of Texas designated Texas Children's as a pediatric Ebola treatment center.

As part of the hospital's preparation, officials said, specific protocols were developed outlining steps staff would take if and when a patient with Ebola symptoms arrived at a Texas Children's facility. Additionally, in order to decrease the risk of exposure and

provide the complex care required, the hospital identified specific areas and units responsible for caring for any patient with Ebola. The health care workers in those areas have received intense, ongoing training and simulation to help them prepare, officials said.

"We are honored to partner with the State of Texas to provide the highest quality care to infants and children with Ebola and other highly contagious infectious diseases," Kline said. "Texas Children's Hospital specializes in the medical care and treatment of infants and children with the most complex and serious health problems. The challenge of serious infectious diseases is one we accept and confront willingly."