Nurses' Union Co-President: We need to spread readiness not fear
The union National Nurses United has blasted Texas Presbyterian Hospital's handling of Ebola patient Thomas Duncan. The union released a list of disturbing claims that include Mr. Duncan being left outside of isolation for hours where he was in the presence of other patients, a lack of access to proper supplies and not having anyone to pick up medical waste, which they say piled up near the ceiling. The hospital released a statement:
"Patient and employee safety is our greatest priority and we take compliance very seriously. We have numerous measures in place to provide a safe working environment, including mandatory annual training and a 24-7 hotline and other mechanisms that allow for anonymous reporting. Our nursing staff is committed to providing quality, compassionate care, as we have always known, and as the world has seen firsthand in recent days. We will continue to review and respond to any concerns raised by our nurses and all employees. "
Anderson discussed all of this with National Nurses United Co-President Deborah Burger.
There are fears of a walkout by medical workers in Texas. Anderson spoke about the situation with Dr. Joseph McCormick, who is the Dean of the University of Texas School of Public Health.
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Filed under: Ebola |
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if duncan with-held important information from nurses about his situation...the are not clairvoyant.....his family and fiance as far as i know don't have the virus....did he protect his family and put strangers at risk...i believe he knew he had it...fiance did not touch bed he slept in....why??? aren't they lovers???
This article is not about Mr Duncan but about the hospitals incompetence. Did you read it at all? You are so bent on blaming Duncan instead of the hospital who couldn't diagnose him given his travel history. If anything Duncan served as a wake up call to the nation that the level of preparedness is not what people think. What if this was bioterrorism?
Information shows that the woman who Mr Duncan had contact with, died after he left for US and her result only came out after he left. Secondly, if he was aware he had this deadly disease, he would have gone to another hospital after sent home at Tx Presbyterian, or do you think he really wanted to go home and die?
Again, Patrick Sawyer, an American who brought Ebola to Nigeria, could have chosen to come to the US instead. It was simply fate. So it is not a question of Duncan, it is a matter of the US not being ready to handle Ebola and failure of good leadership at every level, from the hospital to CDC. So read the article again, blame the right people, and stop obsessing over Duncan, he is dead.