With public anxiety increasing about the Ebola virus, Westchester and Hudson Valley hospitals say they are preparing for potential local cases.

Dr. Ron Nutovits, chairman of emergency medicine at the Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt Manor, says his hospital is ready. "We have a whole decontamination area because we're the closest hospital to the Entergy nuclear plant," he says. 

The medical staff has been trained to ask about patients' recent travels and to direct patients who are potentially suffering from Ebola to separate entrances that lead to isolation rooms, away from the rest of the hospital population.

The Hudson Valley Hospital Center is one of many facilities that have instituted new plans and procedures to help staff treat patients who might have contracted Ebola. 

"Everybody is definitely ready," says Mary Sernatinger, of Phelps Memorial Hospital. The hospital recently had a potential Ebola case, but health officials later confirmed that the patient didn't have Ebola.

Hospital officials have also held a number of exercises for their staff members to make sure everyone is on the same page. The main goal of the drills is to stress the high stakes if health workers don't take proper safety precautions, including properly taking off protective clothing after seeing a patient.