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Hospitals Prepared In Event Of Bioterror Attack During NATO Summit

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some Chicago hospitals have prepared for possible bioterrorism attacks related to the NATO Summit.

As WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports, Stroger Hospital of Cook County and University of Chicago Medicine say they are set up with decontamination tents or trailers should there be any bioterrorist act.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports

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U of C Medicine vice president of risk management Krist Curell tells Crain's Chicago Business that what the university has heard from hospitals in other host cities is that "walking well" patients will show up at their doorstep – that is, people who think they have been decontaminated by something, but have not been.

Anyone who believes he or she has been contaminated by some biological material will be decontaminated before being taken into the hospital building itself.

Stroger Hospital will set up decontamination tents outside the hospital, but county health officials expect that the medics on site mostly will be treating such problems as exhaustion, dehydration and bumps and bruises, Crain's reported.

The Cook County health system is also the host hospital for the summit and will assume "first responder" duties, spokeswoman Marisa Kollias told Crain's.

Meanwhile, the U of C will set up a command center at 7 a.m. Saturday, which will be staffed around the clock through 7 a.m. Tuesday, Crain's reported.

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