Nebraska hospital prepares for new Ebola patient

 

(CNN) -- A surgeon who's a Sierra Leone national and a legal permanent resident of the United States will be transported from Sierra Leone to the Nebraska Medical Center for treatment for Ebola, a government official familiar with the situation said.

The doctor is expected to arrive this weekend, most likely Saturday, the official said.

The official said it's not known whether the doctor was working in an Ebola treatment unit or some other type of hospital. The surgeon is married to a U.S. citizen and has children, the official said.

The Omaha hospital is one of four hospitals in the United States that have biocontainment units and years of preparation in handling highly infectious disease like Ebola.

Doctors there have already treated two American Ebola patients. Dr. Rick Sacra was treated at the hospital and released in September. And Ashoka Mukpo, a freelance cameraman who worked for NBC, was treated there and released last month.

Both Sacra and Mukpo contracted the virus in Liberia and were later flown to the United States for treatment.