https://youtube.com/watch?v=VLkOJAWgs3U
Despite a raging Ebola outbreak in West Africa and concerns that the virus could reach U.S. shores, a Dallas nurse claims that the hospital where she worked never even discussed Ebola with its employees — much less enacted emergency procedures once the first patient arrived.
Nurse Briana Aguirre spoke Thursday on NBC’s Today about Ebola preparations at Dallas’s Presbyterian Hospital, where Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan arrived on September 28. At least two nurses at that hospital were subsequently infected by Duncan, prompting questions about the facility’s preparedness.
Matt Lauer asked the nurse whether there was a “code red” or “lock down” following Duncan’s admission to the hospital.
“We never talked about Ebola, and we probably should have,” Aguirre said. “We never had a discussion. They gave us an optional seminar to go to — just informational, not hands on. And it wasn’t even suggested that we go.”
“We never were told what to look for,” she continued. “And I just don’t think that any facility in this country’s prepared for that, at this time.”