From an article in Democracy Now
This excepts are from "Democracy Now" Not a Right Wing Rag . Amy Good and Juan Gonzalez practice good journalism Even their critics acknowledge that
This comes as the country’s largest nurses union, National Nurses United, says hospitals have failed to protect workers from the virus. In a conference call Tuesday, the union’s co-president, Deborah Burger, said nurses at the Dallas hospital described how they had to use medical tape to secure openings in their flimsy garments and were worried that their necks and heads were exposed as they cared for a patient with explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting. Burger outlined how the hospital lacked the proper protocol to handle Ebola cases.
DEBORAH BURGER: When Mr. Thomas Eric Duncan first came into the hospital, he arrived with a temperature that was tested with an elevated temperature but was sent home. On his return visit to the hospital, he was brought in by ambulance under suspicion from amongst his family he had Ebola. Mr. Duncan was left for several hours, not in isolation, in an area where other patients were present. Subsequently, a nurse supervisor arrived and demanded that he be moved to an isolation unit, yet faced resistance from other hospital authorities. Lab specimens from Mr. Duncan were sent through the hospital tube system without being specifically sealed and hand-delivered. The result is that the entire tube system, which all the lab specimens are sent, was potentially contaminated.
There was no advance preparedness on what to do with the patient. There was no protocol. There was no system. The nurses were asked to call the infectious disease department. The infectious disease department did not have clear policies to provide either. Initial nurses who interacted with Mr. Duncan wore generic gowns, used in contact-droplet isolation, front and back, three pairs of gloves with no taping around the wrists, surgical masks with the option of an N95 and face shields. Some supervisors said that even the N95 masks were not necessary.
The Nurses Union is a wonderful progressive organization. They Right Wing has been all over this in the most irresponsible and unprofessional manner They have given President Obama an opportunity to show leadership and "bitch slap" the Republicans.
He should call an emergency session of Congress and demand they they restore Full Funding for the CDC and appoint a Surgeon General immediately Seize the moment Let them debate: (like they can) Its good public health strategy and damn good politics Show you are the commander and chief who cares about the Public's Health and Safety. In the meantime demand congress investigate the hospital administrators. Why did they have such laxed protocols Where are the Infection Control Nurses . (JACHO is suppose to be investigating this as well but that is a different discussion)
5:08 AM PT: http://www.democracynow.org/...