EBOLA National tv news: Ambulances are no longer delivering new patients to the Dallas Hospital

[night driver]

A great many hospitals use staffing agencies to get extra help on a regular basis .

True, at least on the surface.

A hosp does NOT order up half a dozen contract nurses for 6-12 week minimums to open another division to get out of a diversionary status.

Nurses are not like "Hey frank, call the hall and get us 4 welders so we can get back on schedule". The logistics don't work that way.

 

[bassgirl]

I don't recall Dr. Brantley being held personally responsible for messing up his protocol.

He also didn't go to an ordinary hospital with nothing better than L2.



Panic Sex Lady thinks the nurse is being scapegoated ...

I like your thinking!

 

[Shacknasty Shagrat]

If the cause of the 'diversion' is that 18 employees are being 'monitored' per the chaotic news conference yesterday, then the problem has grown.
If one patient can disable a major hospital, then after 4 or so more confirmed patients, there will not be a reliable medical system in Dallas.
SS

 

[Cyclonemom]

I just had a sickening thought; 'what if this has cross mutated with the flu"?...and THAT is why it doesn't totally act like the regular Ebola Zaire strain?

I don't think that's possible. It would be like crossing a cat with a cow. But the Ebola virus, like all RNA viruses, can mutate easily on it's own just fine.

Which is why we don't get flu vaccines. First of all, they (the vacccine makers) have to guess at which strain might be prevalent in the coming season, and then they have to develop a vaccine for that mutant form. Not specific enough to be of much help.

But DNA viruses, like chickenpox, do mutate slowly enough to make a vaccine logical.

 

[dstraito]

Just started watching The Stand

The first screen is text

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
T.S.Eliot

 

[jersey juice]

Staffing issues? I can only guess why!!! I thought maybe the hospital (or CDC) was wishing up in trying to contain this disease. Wishful thinking....

 

[MCSWACK]

AS A SIDE NOTE PER GOOD MORNING AUSTRALIA : The Australian government will not send doctors or nurses to west Africa to help contain the Ebola crisis until it is certain “all of the risks are being properly managed”, the prime minister, Tony Abbott, has said. Figures released on Saturday by the World Health Organisation show that more than 4,000 people have died in the Ebola epidemic that broke out in west Africa in March, out of a total of 8,399 registered cases. The death toll includes 233 health workers.
International health organisations such as Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) have criticised the Abbott government’s “underwhelming” response to the outbreak, which has included cash grants to MSF, the World Health Organisation and British front line efforts in Sierra Leone – but no Australian medical personnel.

 

[CRodgers]

Because of staffing issues, Presbyterian temporarily diverted ambulances away from its emergency room. It lifted that order late Sunday.


http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Dallas-question-How-did-nurse-get-Ebola-5818564.php

 

[Be Well]

Assuming flu shots work AND that they do no harm, then getting a flu shot is a great idea b/c you won't be presenting docs with possible Ebola symptoms when you only have the flu.

Even a flu vx that is a good match and the person receiving it has a good antibody response, 70 to at most 80% is the best it can protect, from everything I have read.

 

[nchomemaker]

This was discussed yesterday on the Main Ebola thread. Here is just part of the discussion:


PPE is what every healthcare worker is advised to use = same as Universal Precautions = Gown, Gloves, Mask, Goggles/Face Shield.

This is standard procedure.

And the response was:


Not for a Bio Safety Level IV Pathogen.

I suppose they'll (the CDC) will downgrade it to a BSL-2 soon.

Pixie at PFI writes:

Comment:

Note that Dr. Varga was very specific in stating that the nurse was following "CDC precautions" and that those precautions included "a mask, gown, and gloves."

That is quite different from an impermeable full head-to-toe covering suit and hood, which is what most laymen would consider the only standard that could logically be called "full protective gear" in light of the fact that the virus under discussion is Ebola.

Only on Planet Frieden are mask/gloves/gown "full protection" against BSL-4 EBOLA.

Not necessarily. We have gone on divert due to our CT scanner being down, the lab not having a machine functioning, and weather issues. This only stops ambulance traffic. MY worse cases (including the chain saw accident this weekend) have walked in. Gotta agree with nightdriver - this is a 'not coming in' or 'don't come in' issue.

I have noticed that our ambulances (for our county) have been stating 'pt has not been out of the country in 3 months' in all their reports. This is not something that was done 1 1/2 to 2 weeks ago. I've heard it enough I'm thinking it has become their protocol.

Another thing - the news keeps repeating that there was a 'breach of protocol' that allowed the nurse in Dallas to get Ebola. Something about that just irks me, but I can't quite articulate why.

 

[Night Owl]

Maybe all the beds are being used in the Dallas hospital. Remember the nurse had contact with workers & patients for weeks, maybe they have to isolate all people in contact with her, or they could have a huge lawsuit if they don't give first class care to possible contaminated people.

 

[Zulu Cowboy]

America is about to experience a crisis of confidence in it's healthcare system.
Hell, we already have a hard time controlling hospital acquired infections like MRSA...
And there are already multiple layers of infection control protocols in place in every U.S. hospital.
We have airborne, and contact isolation procedures...
We have it drilled into us, about the importance of hand washing.
We have alcohol foam in every hospital room...and outside every public restroom.
We have nitrile gloves and N-95 masks everywhere.
We also serve, live and work with fallible, forgetful, and just plain lazy human beings.
Some, who won't even wash their hands, after going to the toilet?
People who are totally oblivious to their own...and other people's personal hygiene.
What the hell makes you think we can control something like Ebola?
If there was ever a time for raising people's awareness about the importance of hand washing and sanitation...now is that time.
The AIDS epidemic should have taught us that...
You have unprotected sex with a stranger? It's like having sex with every partner they've ever had intimate contact with...
You touch a public doorknob, handrail, water fountain, grocery cart, public phone or anything else handled by hundreds of other people?
You might as well shake hands with 500 strangers, and then go lick your fingers.
It's a steep learning curve...but we're all about to go through it.
Wash your damn hands, people! Especially before you touch your face, pick your nose, or rub your eyes.
Wash your hands...before you smoke, eat, drink or touch any mucous membrane.
Open bathroom doors with an extra paper towel...and then throw it away.
Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in your vehicle.
Disinfect surfaces that get touched frequently.
Wash your hands...wash your hands...wash your hands!
Oh...and before I forget, just one more thing...
WASH YOUR HANDS!!!

Zulu Cowboy

 

[Annika]

Blue flu.