Union Demands Obama Take Action to Protect Nurses from Ebola - East Idaho News

Union Demands Obama Take Action to Protect Nurses from Ebola

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getty 101614 medical?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1413462291909Zoonar/Thinkstock(SILVER SPRING, Md.) — The nation’s largest nurses’ union called upon President Obama Wednesday to use his executive authority to make hospitals nationwide follow the same protocol in treating Ebola patients as Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, which specializes in dealing with patients infected with the deadly virus.

The demand by the National Nurses United during a conference call followed on the heels of complaints by nurses from Texas Health Presbyterian Health Hospital in Dallas that no procedures were in place when Thomas Eric Duncan was admitted to the facility after being diagnosed with Ebola.

Duncan died on Oct. 8 but not before he exposed dozens of health care workers at the hospital to the virus that has ravaged West Africa. Two nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian have tested positive for Ebola.

The NNU reiterated the nurses’ criticisms Wednesday that included leaving Duncan alone with patients before he was put in isolation; not giving nurses the proper protective gear; failure to dispense with Ebola contaminated waste; and improperly sending Duncan’s samples through a pneumatic tube system.

As a result, the NNU said the president should make certain that all hospitals to follow the guidelines used at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, which has treated two Ebola patients so far. It is just one of four facilities that are specifically designed to do so.

All nurses must wear hazmat suits that meet high standards when treating Ebola patients, the NNU said, because they are “our first line of defense.”

In a response, Wendell Watson, a spokesman for the Dallas Hospital said that, “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.”


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