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"We Have A System Failure" CDC Chief Blasted For Scapegoating Ebola 'Protocol Breach'
Do not panic. Ebola is not very contagious at all. That remains the mantra from health and political officials in America.. and as far as the nurse who was treating now-dead Dallas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, it was user error, according to CDC Director Frieden. As Reuters reports, some healthcare experts are bristling at the assertion by a top U.S. health official that a “protocol breach” caused the Dallas nurse to be infected with Ebola while caring for a dying patient, saying the case instead shows how far the nation’s hospitals are from adequately training staff to deal with the deadly virus, "you don't scapegoat and blame when you have a disease outbreak... We have a system failure. That is what we have to correct."
Some healthcare experts are bristling at the assertion by a top U.S. health official that a “protocol breach” caused a Dallas nurse to be infected with Ebola while caring for a dying patient, saying the case instead shows how far the nation’s hospitals are from adequately training staff to deal with the deadly virus.
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It was not immediately clear whether the Texas hospital prepared its staff with simulation drills before admitting Duncan, but a recent survey of nurses nationwide suggests few have been briefed on Ebola preparations. Officials at the hospital did not respond to requests for comment.
Some experts also question the CDC’s assertion that any U.S. hospital should be prepared to treat an Ebola patient as the outbreak ravaging West Africa begins to spread globally. Given the level of training required to do the job safely, U.S. health authorities should consider designating a hospital in each region as the go-to facility for Ebola, they said.
"You don't scapegoat and blame when you have a disease outbreak," said Bonnie Castillo, a registered nurse and a disaster relief expert at National Nurses United, which serves as both a union and a professional association for U.S. nurses. "We have a system failure. That is what we have to correct."
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In many cases, hospitals "post something on a bulletin board referring workers and nurses to the CDC guidelines. That is not how you drill and practice and become expert," she said.
CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said the agency is still investigating the case of the Dallas nurse, but stressed that "meticulous adherence to protocols" is critical in handling Ebola. "One slight slip can result in someone becoming infected."
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"Doctors and nurses get lost in patient care. They do things that put themselves at risk because their lens is patient-driven," Kaufman said. In Dallas, "I suspect no one was watching to make sure the people who were taking care of the patients were taking care of themselves," he said.
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"Towards of end of the illness, the virus is trying to live and thrive. It's trying to get out of the person's body. It's producing massive amounts of fluid," he said.
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“Every hospital can then prevent the spread of Ebola, but not every hospital in the U.S. can admit a patient in the hospital for long-term care,” he said.
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So - let's get this straight - Ebola is a deadly disease but is not easily spread (so don't panic) but if you are a healthcare worker a slight slip and you are done...
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Why the fuck blame Duncan? He just wanted to live. He told them what was going on, handed it to them on a platter, and they ignored him. A competent response would have stopped it right there. You know, the sort of response one might expect from an "exceptional" people.
"Why the fuck blame Duncan?"
Because that fucktard knew he was exposed and didn't give a shit about anybody but himself, not even his fiance and kid. I get how you want to blame .gov for everything but set aside your tinfoil headgear for a moment and realize that we as individuals are responsible for our actions.
Sure, I know, and it's the nurse's fault she got infected.
Well designed systems do not fail because of a totally predictable human foible. Duncan was totally predictable. Prediction: there will be plenty more Duncans. You can get ready to point the finger at them, or you can figure out a system that won't collapse under their weight.
Which do you think might be the wisest course?
CDC = Eugenics lab
You just couldn't make it up! #37:
New Jersey officials have issued a mandatory quarantine order for members of an NBC crew after a voluntary 21-day isolation agreement was violated.
So that's 100% of US Ebola quarantines that have been broken so far then.
Even worse, the article goes on to say it didn't matter because they weren't contagious! If they weren't contagious, why have a quarantine?
And then, the "violater" was a doctor. I kid you not.
"""Dr. Nancy Snyderman and her crew had agreed to a voluntary quarantine when they returned to the United States from West Africa last week following their exposure to a cameraman who contracted the deadly virus.
But Snyderman, who lives in Princeton, NJ, was spotted outside the Peasant Grill in nearby Hopewell on Thursday afternoon, according to Planet Princeton. Snyderman, who was wearing sunglasses and had her long hair pulled back, waited while a man went inside the eatery to pick up a takeout order, Planet reported.""
Nancy L. Snyderman is an American physician per wikipedia.
Those who ascribe conspiratorial attributes to this latest example of government failure just refuse to consider the simple perspective that the bigger government grows the less able it is to provide the services it claims are a government function. The only function that any of these centralized, authoritarian/totalitarian governments do well is terrorize their populations. When everything is a priority that must be funded...
Frieden is a crony. Bloomberg backed him getting the CDC job.
He is a lightweight.
Phew got mandatory health care just in time.
Nothing pisses me off more than the attitude "Everything will be fine." It is that attitude that is endemic in our government where the upper echelon of personnel are politcal appointees. It goes hand in hand with the attitude that "I've got the top gov't job in the country (Director of CDC, Surgeon General, etc) then I am due the same amount of respect that is given to someone who has earned that respect in the same field through decades of hard work."
"Everything will be fine" because I'm the director of the CDC and it will be fine because I say so. Uh, No, no it won't.
This whole administration if replete with amateurs from the top all the way down. All of them think that "I must be the best because I have the top job". Little do they realize that the more they speak the more that faith in the government is chipped away a little each day until the day comes that no one believes anything that the government says.
Agency heads are political hacks who are usually adept at fundraising and/or bundling.
The Atty General and Surgeon General have to be licensed to practice.
Your grandmother could fill in at the head of any Alphabet agency in the Executive Branch.
The head of any agency is normally the least qualified guy in the room.
I've been saying it for a long time on these boards. The Frieden / Fauci premise that America is medical wonderland, and can easily deal with the ebola threat, is dangerous and false. Additionally, and in the face of clear opposing evidence, the CDC has acted negligently by sugarcoating the transmission risks of this virus. Their supreme crime, however, has been giving counsel to the administration against imposing a strict blockade of Western Africa. These actions will destroy the lives of many Americans. A real leader, one who puts America first, would know exactly what to do.
The denial runs deep in the healthcare industry as well.
Hey nurse get that diarrhea out of your mouth! You should know better!
does anybody have an idea from when on menstruation is infected? and i think one single particle of the virus should be enough...
Don't chew on used tampons or pads.
The only breach of protocol, was putting the patient in a normal hospital and not in one of the USA's 19 Level 4 infectious disease beds.
Someone who works at a waste treatment plant just called in to the Glen Beck radio show reporting that those employees would likely be exposed to the Ebola pathogen. I felt stupid for never considering that until someone said it. Why of course a waste treatment facility could likely have Ebola just like all the other pathogens collecting at a treatment plant. Yes, the waste is treated, but that doesn't preclude exposure for employees. Some cities are now even recycling waste water for drinking water (Wichita Falls Tx).
I've been reading comments in other forums about having hospitals hold drills for nurses on how to get out of PPE without contaminating themselves. This is being suggested by infectious disease docs who are used to the equipment and know how difficult it can be (and what the consequences are of not getting it right). They all say that hot zone training takes weeks; most hospital nurses are getting CDC handouts or a quick inservice but little or no actual hands on experience. These drills would take time and money and as others have pointed out here, the number of likely volunteers to care for a presumptive Ebola patient is probably going to go down the longer this plays out. And that's if the hospitals got it together to do real training.
We don't know if the Texas hospital used the buddy system used in the hot zone, where someone watches as you put the PPE on to make sure every spot of skin is covered and again watches as you take it off to make sure no contamination occurs. The CDC may be right that the nurse was the weak link but it is clear that not every hospital in the nation is equipped to take care of an Ebola patient and continuing to insist that they are is just ludicrous.
I cannot see what would be so different with disease PPE vs that used by persons in the nuclear field.
I've had radiation safety training and been thru the proper donning and removal of PPE so as not to be contaminated with those atomic particles you don't want hanging around. It is pretty straightforward.
My opinion is this shits like a vapor.
That's just it: You've had the training. Being thrown into a situation where you're expected to do your job without that training you don't have the confidence that comes with experience.
GloGerm is a substance that is used with PPE/handwashing drills. It shows up under UV light to demonstrate the efficacy of one's technique.
We'll never know if this is a lapse from the nurse unless there is video.
You seem to be assuming that the staff was supplied with real biohazard suits. Any particular reason for the assumption? I would expect that they used standard paper gowns and masks, gloves, safety glasses. Not exactly what is called for with a level IV pathogen.
Sure as shit the ER staff didn't even go that far.
Incidently, it goes way beyond the PPE in use. The entire approach to patient care needs to change for ebola. Standard patient care protocols will kill staff no matter what they're wearing. Changing them requires flexibilty, not the hallmark of an authoritarian state. My paycheck says they didn't change shit.
I've seen articles where biohazard suits were mentioned but then there are photos of paper gowns and masks. I don't think anyone has pinned Frieden down as to what the nurse was actually wearing. It's an obvious question that ought to be asked.
If this goes big, triage nurses will request BSL-IV suits to deal with the fevers of the coming flu season, or they won't be there at all.
Optimally we'd see fever tents outside large facilities just to keep the greater hospital intact.
But I agree with you, change and agility is not something you see in institutions and the authoritarian state.
Excellent level headed post.
Jena for CDC head
(Wish I had the power to nominate you. The real person who would serve us well would probably NOT seek it out, like I know you wouldn't)
Thanks, MsC but I cannot imagine a worse fate. I'm way too outspoken to be a political type.
but..but...but...this is allegedly a blood born pathogen......are those this easy to contract?
I took my gloves of "Hey buddy, was that the propper sequence. Tell me, you are watching".
"Shit, now you say to take my boots of first".
Awesome post....thanks Jena!
It would be nice if someone would slide a cell phone under her door so she can be the one to tell us if she really did fail to observe PPE protocol. Heck, I have an old one I don't need anymore, send me a name and address and I'll send it to her....
YES LET"S RAMP IT UP. Just like they let everyone go on the Los Vegas plain on Friday. NICE JOB CDC>
If you don't like today's lies, we will tell you some new ones tomorrow.
You're focusing entirely upon a political appointee, when there are millions working for the various bureacracies that are totally unaccountable to the people they alledgedly serve. They serve their paychecks and their supervisors.
I'm sure there are companies that could quickly mass-produce mobile BSL-4 units and have them shipped to needing hospitals within hours but it is better that we send $ billions to Afghanistan so corrupt government officials can quickly pocket it in new and evolving means....Our government cannot get its head out of its ass and do anything meaningful and that is a glaring understatement...
This is being done by design. They need more people infected here in order to play the odds that some of them will survive, in order to use them to make a serum (which some biotech companies will make billions off of).
They need all blood types.
Problem for them is, they don't have any 'volunteers'
CDC Ebola protocols:
1) CDC protocols are always right
2) If they are not right, see rule 1
If CDC protocol results in healthcare workers' infection, then it is the healthcare workers fault. Breach in the protocol, a.k.a. throw Jimmie/Jane Sixpack under tha bus. Maybe add word 'HEROIC' to the name, before reiterating 'protocol breach' 100x.
3. Use soap
Our government is running this ebola crisis like the US ran the Ryder Cup. Let the finger pointing begin.
This guy is the health care version of Timmy Geithner.
Why doesn't the CDC chief don a hazmat suit himself and go into a room with an actively infectious patient whiile a GoPro camera records? This would solve three problems at once: the population would see that the CDC chief is willing to bet his life that Ebola is not contagious when protocol is followed, it would also demonstrate what the correct protocol is and would probably help GPRO's flagging stock price.
Win-Win-Win!
This monkey Frieden is a walking Saturday Night Live routine.
It is time for Congress to decide--quickly--if he is fit for the job.
Yeah, but SNL instead opened with a North Korea skit. Hilarious. Biting commentary.
Seems to me we are dealing with the Protocols of the Elders of Ebola.
Never seen such dickheads.
"There's a risk. We can't eliminate it. But we can control it." is the message.
Not, "Don't worry be happy Suuuuperdoctor is on the case!"
Obama is a blithering fool on his best day, but these doctors are supposed to be both smart and edumacated so they have no excuse.
People in West Africa regularly eat bushmeat. Could an already present genetic immunity combined with smalldoses of ebola give them greater immunity. Could antibodies to ebola be passed to offspring through breast milk?
why come no vaccine? this is allegedly much less complex than the norovirus or rhinovirus......about on par with the flu virus......
According to the CNN Sideshow article, I have had up a week waiting to get accepted here, It states that it only took two hours for the test results to come back on Romero (The Spanish nurse who tested positive).
"It was there, on Tuesday, that Romero got tested for Ebola. The positive result came back two hours later, according to an Alcorcon doctor."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/08/world/europe/ebola-spain/index.html?hpt=hp...
I have been wondering why some can take up to three days to get test results, but this one was two hours, you would think something like testing for Ebola would be a lab priority and we seem to have to wait days for most of the test results (unless its an airplane stopped in NJ). This is also the first time I have seen a time stamp on how fast you can get test results back, so I thought I would share. I guessing the Spanish have a super Ebola tester compared to the rest of the world? /sarc/
And Hello everyone :) Nice to meet you.
Welcome.
I am no expert.
I have heard that at different stages of the illness you need different tests. Also they need 2 tests to be sure. If one comes back negative you are not necessarily clear. Also I will hear them get a positive, and then need to send it off elsewhere to confirm.
This is a wild guess, but as the viral load increases, I think it is easier to detect.
Welcome again!