The most popular, but least widespread disease in America will not last long if it ever comes to the greater Hershey area. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designated Penn State’s Hershey Medical center as a spot now qualified to treat Ebola. Since October, there have not been any reports of the disease in the United States. However, the hospital will continue to train its employees in case of an outbreak.

Penn State Hershey is one of just four medical centers in Pennsylvania with this unique designation and is ready to take charge in the case of an outbreak in Central Pennsylvania. The hospital was visited by state and federal officials in December, who evaluated the hospital’s training, facilities, and equipment to determine its ability to treat the disease. Employees in more than 30 departments have been trained in Ebola care, all of whom volunteered to be trained.

While the chances are that nobody will ever be treated for Ebola at Penn State Hershey, nonetheless, the designation is still a new and exclusive label for a hospital that is mostly thought of for its work with THON and pediatric cancer research.