Across the Northwest medical professionals are getting ready for Ebola.
![Marc Bouma, an E.R. nurse at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, is taking a leave of absence to fight Ebola in Liberia. In this photo he was volunteering in Haiti after the earthquake of 2010.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/842cb47/2147483647/strip/true/crop/280x280+0+0/resize/880x880!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmediad.publicbroadcasting.net%2Fp%2Fnorthwestnews%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Fcard_280%2Fpublic%2F201410%2F102814AK_EbolaNW.jpeg)
Some are volunteering to fly out and help patients in west Africa. Others are practicing and equipping their hospitals to receive a case if needed.
Marc Bouma, an E.R. nurse at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, is taking a leave of absence for Ebola. On Sunday he’s flying out of SeaTac and is headed for a remote county in southeast Liberia.
Bouma said many of his family and friends were upset he’d miss Thanksgiving and likely Christmas in a hazardous situation.
“One of my favorite reactions; I was actually at work. I was telling some people at work that I was going in a couple weeks, and one of the doctor was standing next to me and actually took a step back,” Bouma said. “I was like, ‘Don’t worry doctor, I haven’t got Ebola yet.’”
Bouma will be part of a team with a non-profit called Partners in Health. He and others will try to treat and prevent the spread of Ebola there until at least mid-December.
In Portland, Oregon Health and Science University is conducting training this week with tricky protective outfits and a dummy that simulates Ebola symptoms.
Copyright 2014 Northwest News Network