Incompetent is a little kind at this point. It turns out that doctors at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas did know that Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan had traveled to Liberia when they sent him home on September 26, forcing the hospital to “retract” its earlier assertion that a glitch with its electronic medical records system was to blame:
Dallas hospital retracts explanation for missed #Ebola diagnosis; patient now critical: http://t.co/w5rttVdFfn pic.twitter.com/Gv3rfUGkSI
— Yahoo (@Yahoo) October 4, 2014
An excerpt from the report above:
Late Friday – 24 hours after releasing the details in “in the interest of transparency” – the hospital reversed part of its account. Unlike before, they said Duncan’s travel history was visible to all in the hospital’s electronic health record (EHR) system.
“There was no flaw in the EHR in the way the physician and nursing portions interacted related to this event,” the hospital said in a written statement.
But as of Saturday afternoon, no other explanation for the oversight has been given. Emails to the hospital with specific questions from Yahoo News have not been returned for days.
More from Time:
Dallas Hospital Alters Story on Ebola Case http://t.co/P8Ad3jSd49
— jyotindrazaveri (@JyotindraZaveri) October 5, 2014
Oh, it gets worse: The United States just isn’t ready for Ebola:
https://twitter.com/SalenaZitoTrib/status/518730920648802304
The expert cited in that Tribune piece says it’s time for travel restrictions on countries affected by Ebola:
“Unless the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention take extreme measures to prevent the universal spread of the disease, we could possibly end up with a pandemic,” said Phenelle Segal, president of Montgomery County-based Infection Control Consulting Services and a former infection prevention analyst for the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority.
“I think as soon as we started seeing West Africa go out of control with Ebola, that was the time” to halt air travel from the region, said Segal, who supports exceptions for relief workers and aid missions.
That approach might be the only way to contain the outbreak and prevent a global crisis, Segal said. Federal and global health officials argue isolation would risk more economic instability in West Africa while undercutting humanitarian support, worsening the epidemic in the short term and fostering a greater international threat over time.
“The only way.”
And Republican Dan Bongino, candidate for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, sums up what he — and many others — think should happen next:
The only thing controversial about a temporary travel ban from #Ebola stricken countries is why we don't have one. #CommonSense
— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) October 5, 2014
Related:
Unreal: NYT journo reports CDC employee claims the agency is more fearful of THIS than Ebola itself
Dennis Miller slays Obama admin with a simple, yet stinging, Ebola suggestion
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