The federal Centers for Disease Control has designated two relatively small, community hospitals as "Ebola treatment centers." In October, Governor Andrew Cuomo listed five metro-area hospital networks where Ebola patients could be taken, but did not name all of the specific facilities.

In a newly-released list of 35 centers nationwide, the identities are spelled out: New York Presbyterian's 200-bed Allen Hospital at the northern tip of Manhattan and Northshore-LIJ's 241-bed Glen Cove Hospital in Nassau County.

Bob Kelly, president of New York Presbyterian, said expert staff from the network's flagship Columbia and Cornell facilities would go to Allen, and that serving an Ebola patient there made the most sense.

"We didn't really want to take one of our main campuses and disrupt them that way, and we felt this was the way to do that," he said.

Kelly said the network spent more than $2 million to convert part of an intensive care unit into a single-bed biocontainment center — money he hopes the federal government will reimburse.

Normal operations would continue at Allen, in the event it received an Ebola patient.

It's absolutely an environment that would be safe for anyone to come into the hospital," he said. "We're comfortable that our staff will be able to practice in an absolute safe environment. The psychology of the general public is always difficult to predict."

Kelly said officials have reached out to community groups to brief them on the role the hospital could play.

The new unit is currently being used for training and not for any clinical purpose, so that it would be available if needed. Kelly said if the Ebola outbreak in West Africa tapers off, administrators would consider returning it to an active ICU.