Dr. Rick Sacra back home after leaving Nebraska Medical Center

Dr. Angela Hewitt, Dr. Rick Sacra, and Dr. Phil Smith at the UNMC Biocontainment Unit

The first patient who has been treated at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) for an Ebola viral infection, Dr. Rick Sacra, has been let out his isolation room in the Biocontainment Unit after three weeks, and has headed home. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that two consecutive separate blood samples taken from Dr. Sacra 24 hours apart show the virus is no longer in his bloodstream.

Dr. Rick Sacra out of trouble and ready to go home after contracting the deadly
Ebola Virus in West Africa

“It was very gratifying for the entire team that treated Dr. Sacra to see him walk out the doors healthy again,” said Dr. Phil W. Smith, medical director of the Biocontainment Unit and professor of infectious disease and epidemiology at UNMC. “When he arrived three weeks ago, he was extremely ill with a virus the world doesn’t have a lot of experience treating. To know that we were able to play a role in helping his body fight off the virus so he could be reunited with his family and continue doing the work he’s so passionate about makes the years we’ve spent training and preparing for something like this more than worth it.”

"I am so grateful,” said Dr. Sacra. “Just so incredibly grateful to have gotten through this illness! Many were praying for me, even people I did not know personally. During the time I was here, there was a growing confidence that God was answering those prayers, and that I was steadily improving. Thanks to God and to the team here at The Nebraska Medical Center!"

“It was very gratifying for the entire team that treated Dr. Sacra to see him walk out the doors healthy again,” said Phil Smith, M.D., medical director of the Biocontainment Unit at The Nebraska Medical Center.