90-Second Read: ‘You only got one shot’: Ambulance crew says moving Hantavirus patients was years in the making

Channel 2 Action News follows the journey of two Hantavirus patients transported to Emory University Hospital, highlighting the expertise and training of the Grady EMS team. ATLANTA, Channel 2 Action News is getting an up-close look at what it took to get two patients exposed to the Hantavirus on a cruise ship to Emory University Hospital once they landed in Atlanta. Channel 2's Michael Doudna spoke with the crew who drove the ambulances carrying the patients. They told Doudna that the teams have trained for years for situations like this. Twelve years ago, they were called on to transport Ebola patients to Emory.

We don't want you to know who we are or think that's the ambulance. Underwood was behind the wheel of one of the two ambulances on Monday. They take a normal ambulance and create a special area in the back to care for and protect the patient. We're able to mobilize within like two hours to take a patient in. Acree leads the team that trains every quarter for situations like Monday's.

When dealing with a potentially deadly, contagious disease, perfection is required. It's what the Grady EMS biosafety transport team has trained for. There's no stopping after we get it on the ambulance, and there's always like a backup plan for the backup plan. There aren't a lot of people who say they can do this kind of work, so it's pretty cool. Because the last thing you want to do is wreck one of those trucks with a patient on the back.

Obviously, there's a lot of stress involved, you know, it's a high-profile case. They also train on what to do on the roads to make sure, whatever happens, they keep driving. The goal for the Grady team is to transport the patient to the hospital for the individual's care and the safety of everyone.