I'm surprised there's been no thread about this...

[BoSoxGal]

I think all involved here were caught off guard.

"First contact scenario". Guy comes in to the ER and says he has a fever (aka transmitting stage). Triage nurse takes his temp wearing nothing but rubber gloves. He has 103F and nurse takes history and says he's from liberia. Does that set off sirens? Don't know. Does the nurse even know about Liberia and about the epidemic there? Even if she does, she has been exposed. Maybe no fluids went between the two, maybe it did. (he rubs his eye/noe/mouth then something else then she touches it.)

But they shouldn't have been caught off guard, because the CDC sent a 6-page advisory to EVERY US HOSPITAL in mid-September!!

It's simple negligence if the hospitals failed to act on that advisory and properly inform their staff - ESPECIALLY ER INTAKE NURSES! - and provide adequate safety measures/equipment to minimize likelihood of transmission between a known infected patient and the nurses/staff treating him.

[wesw]

they didn t even have the proper equipment.....

[BoSoxGal]

I wonder if this is partly to blame?

Republican budget cutting nearly halved CDC's emergency preparedness since 2006
by Joan McCarter


Chart showing cuts to CDC emergency preparedness funding.attribution: Scientific American Goal Thermometer

The Republican fetish with starving government has helped land West Africa in an Ebola crisis. The director of the National Institutes of Health made that clear when he told Huffington Post that steep budget cuts by Congress has set back the institute's work on both prevention and treatment for the disease and that if it hadn't been for a decade's worth of cuts, "we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would've gone through clinical trials and would have been ready."

It's not just the NIH that's suffered, and it's not just in Africa where the cuts are harming people. The Center for Disease Control's emergency preparedness budget has been nearly cut in half in just the past seven years. That means preparation at home. That means that local health departments in this country don't have the funding—or the staff—they need to do the necessary preparation and training to deal with any epidemic. Judy Stone, MD is an infectious disease specialist, details the cuts at Scientific American.

The CDC’s discretionary funding was cut by $585 million during [2010-14]. Shockingly, annual funding for the CDC’s public health preparedness and response efforts were $1 billion lower for 2013 fiscal year than for 2002. These funding decreases have resulted in more than 45,700 job losses at state and local health departments since 2008. Again, it is not just the Ebola that is a looming threat. We need to worry about vaccine-preventable but neglected infections like influenza, measles, and whooping cough; the serious emerging viral infections in the US like Enterovirus-D68, chikungunya and dengue, as well as overseas MERS and bird flus, and natural disasters.

Just let that sink in a bit. $1 billion less for infectious disease control in 2013 than in 2002. The problems in the Texas hospital that led to one of the nursing staff contracting the disease could potentially have been prevented if the local public health infrastructure had the funding and the staff it needs to deal with a serious health public health threat. Meanwhile, Republicans will continue to screech that it's all Obama's fault and will do everything they can to terrify Americans about the (highly unlikely) Ebola epidemic at home.

[Long Run]

Hmm, the gutter thinking of politicians and their hacks figuring out how they can blame some event or catastrophe on the opposition. Blaming the case of ebola on R budget cuts has been given a big B.S. by the Washington Post fact checker. Or blaming a rightward state like Texas for the fact that a private hospital in that state did a poor job in dealing with the nation's first walk-in case (while absolving all the other players in the long line that led to the hospital from when the unfortunate victim helped the infected pregnant woman out of his cab in Liberia).

Fortunately, there is a serious debate going on as to how to best deal with the situation, even if the plutocrats speak in jargon and treat the general population like toddlers so as to not cause alarm (which, of course, causes alarm).

[MajGenl.Meade]

...serious debate...

A statement made by a man in Ghana named Nana Kwame has rocked the internet in the last few days. The following information needs to reach people. We need to see Ebola for what it really is. It’s time that the world wakes up to the agenda behind all of this hysteria. Here is what this man has to say about what is happening in his home country:

“People in the Western World need to know what’s happening here in West Africa. THEY ARE LYING!!! “Ebola” as a virus does NOT Exist and is NOT “Spread”. The Red Cross has brought a disease to 4 specific countries for 4 specific reasons and it is only contracted by those who receive treatments and injections from the Red Cross. That is why Liberians and Nigerians have begun kicking the Red Cross out of their countries and reporting in the news the truth. Now bear with me:

REASONS:
Most people jump to “depopulation” which is no doubt always on the mind of the West when it comes to Africa. But I assure you Africa can NEVER be depopulated by killing 160 people a day when thousands are born per day. So the real reasons are much more tangible.

Reason 1:
This vaccine implemented sickness being “called” Ebola was introduced into West Africa for the end goal of getting troops on the ground in Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. If you remember America was just trying to get into Nigeria for “Boko Haram”. BULLSHIT. But that fell apart when Nigerians started telling the truth. There ARE NO GIRLS MISSING. Global support fell through the floor, and a new reason was needed to get troops into Nigeria and steal the new oil reserves they have discovered.

Reason 2:
Sierra Leone is the World’s Largest Supplier of Diamonds. For the past 4 months they have been on strike, refusing to provide diamonds due to horrible working conditions and slave pay. The West will not pay a fair wage for the resources because the idea is to keep these people surviving on rice bags and foreign aid so that they remain a source of cheap slave labor forever. A reason was also needed to get troops on the ground in Sierra Leone to force an end to the diamond miners strikes. This is not the first time this has been done. When miners refuse to work troops are sent in and even if they have to kill and replace them all, the only desire is to get diamonds back flowing out of the country.
Of course to launch multiple campaigns to invade these countries separately would be way too fishy. But something like “Ebola” allows access to an entire area simultaneously…

Reason 3:
In addition to stealing Nigerian oil, and forcing Sierra Leone back to mining, troops have also been sent in to FORCE vaccinations (Deadly “Ebola” Poison) onto those Africans who are not foolish enough to take them willingly. 3000 troops are being sent in to make sure that this “poison” continues to spread, because again it is only spread through vaccination. As more and more news articles are released as they have been in Liberia, informing the populous of the US lies and manipulation, more and more Africans are refusing to visit the Red Cross. Troops will force these vaccinations upon the people to ensure the visible appearance of an Ebola pandemic. In addition to this they will protect the Red Cross from the Liberians and Nigerians who have been rightfully ejecting them from their countries.

Reason 4:
Last but not least, the APPEARANCE of this Ebola “pandemic” (should Americans not catch on) will be used to scare the countless millions into taking an “Ebola vaccine” which in reality is the pandemic. Already they have started with stories of how it has been brought to the U.S. and has appeared in Dallas, how white doctors were cured but black infected are not being allowed to be treated, etc.

ALL that will do is make blacks STRIVE to get the vaccine, because it appears that the “cure” is being held back from blacks. They will run out in droves to get it and then there will be serious problems. With all we have seen revealed about vaccines this year you would think we learned our lesson. All I can do is hope so, Because they rely on our ignorance to complete their agendas.

Ask yourself: If Ebola really was spread from person to person, instead of controlled spread through vaccination – then WHY would the CDC and the US Government continue to allow flights in and out of these countries with absolutely no regulation, Or At All? We have got to start thinking and sharing information globally because they do not give the true perspective of the people who live here in West Africa. They are lying for their own benefit and there aren’t enough voices out there with a platform to help share our reality. Hundreds of thousands have been killed, paralyzed and disabled by these and other “new” vaccines all over the world and we are finally becoming aware of it. Now what will we do with all this information?”

The original piece written by him can be found here.
- See more at: http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics. ... 8HEOh.dpuf

[Long Run]

Thanks, Meade. Now we know.*


*That you enjoy finding crazy *ss stuff on the internet.

[TPFKA@W]

Food for thought: Just as with any other profession remember someone always graduates in last place.
Guin is spot on with her observations that not all healthcare
Is top tier. The healthcare profession is loaded with incompetent dumbasses.

Beware.

[Gob]

Tell me about it....

[Gob]

Health officials in the US believe a nurse infected with Ebola may have been sick and contagious for four days - and took two flights - before diagnosis.

They believe Amber Vinson may have become ill as early as last Friday, when she flew from Dallas to Ohio.

Disease control specialists are being sent to Ohio to help monitor people she came into contact with there.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-29654727

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yeah her family lives nearby - Tallmadge Road - and she's a Kent State graduate. Visited campus too, supposedly. Panic in the year 2014.

Oh and I didn't have to search the 'net for that rubbish. It was gratuitously shoveled onto my Facebook as a link from a friend of a friend, precipitating a flame war. Bill objected to my characterization of such trash as "conspiracy idiocy".

[Lord Jim]

Bill objected to my characterization of such trash as "conspiracy idiocy".

Then I would respectfully suggest that Bill is a conspiracy idiot...

Hmm, the gutter thinking of politicians and their hacks figuring out how they can blame some event or catastrophe on the opposition. Blaming the case of ebola on R budget cuts has been given a big B.S. by the Washington Post fact checker. Or blaming a rightward state like Texas for the fact that a private hospital in that state did a poor job in dealing with the nation's first walk-in case (while absolving all the other players in the long line that led to the hospital from when the unfortunate victim helped the infected pregnant woman out of his cab in Liberia).

Fortunately, there is a serious debate going on as to how to best deal with the situation, even if the plutocrats speak in jargon and treat the general population like toddlers so as to not cause alarm (which, of course, causes alarm).

Amen. Excellent post.

They tried to pull this same crap during the Benghazi fiasco, attempting to blame it on inadequate funding for embassy security guards...

I'm surprised they haven't tried to blame the ISIS debacle on Defense department cuts...(Oh wait, they can't do that, because they like those budget cuts...)

Apparently now the universal explanation among some Democratic partisans for government policy blunders will be "Republican budget cuts". In the current case, it would be ridiculous to suggest that the CDC failed to provide adequately detailed guidelines for care giver protection protocols because they couldn't afford to do it. Ditto the failure to send an adequate team to Texas Presbyterian to instruct on and oversee the implementation of these procedures. Even the CDC itself isn't trying to make this absurd claim.

[BoSoxGal]

On Thursday morning’s TODAY show, Matt Lauer spoke with Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital nurse Briana Aguirre who cared for the second healthcare worker to be infected with Ebola, Nina Pham. In the interview, Aguirre reveals that the hospital had done startlingly little to prepare its employees for the possibility of Ebola.

“I can no longer defend my hospital at all,” said Aguirre. “I believe that they should’ve known that they were not handling this well, this Ebola crisis. They should’ve known that it was getting out of hand. They should’ve called in more help, even to make a public plea and say, ‘Help us. Help us get the supplies we need. Help us get the nurses the education and training they need, anyone. We’re not handling it well.’ I watched them violate basic principles of nursing care, of medical care.”

Aguirre also revealed that other than an optional informational seminar, the hospital had never discussed what protocol would be in the event of seeing a patient with Ebola. “We never were told what to look for,” she said.

Wait for the employee lawsuits . . .

[BoSoxGal]

[rubato]

And we don't have a surgeon general because ... Republican senators are all cowards.

Yrs,
Rubato

[Lord Jim]

rube gets fan mail from Super Massive Black Holes asking how they can strive to be as dense as he is...

that's how dense this guy is...

[Jarlaxle]

Rube's new nickname..."Osmium".

[rubato]

After Blocking Surgeon General Nominee, Republican Blames Obama For Surgeon General Vacancy



by Adam Peck Posted on October 19, 2014 at 12:55 pm

"After Blocking Surgeon General Nominee, Republican Blames Obama For Surgeon General Vacancy"


It has been nearly a year since Vivek Murthy was nominated by President Obama to serve as the next Surgeon General, but thanks in large part to the gun lobby and their Republican allies in the Senate, there has yet to be any movement on his confirmation.

That vacancy has become a central focus in the last week as government officials and medical professionals try to calm the public about the spread of Ebola.

On Sunday, Meet the Press host Chuck Todd asked Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) about the NRA’s role in blocking Murthy’s confirmation, but the Republican senator dismissed the question outright.

Blunt blamed the vacancy on President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who has yet to put Murthy’s nomination to a full vote, and dismissed questions about the National Rifle Association’s efforts to block the nominee.

“The NRA said they were going to score the vote and suddenly everybody froze him,” said Chuck Todd. “That seems a little petty in hindsight, does it not?”

“Well, the president really ought to nominate people that can be confirmed to these jobs, and frankly then we should confirm them, there’s no question about that,” replied Blunt.

Earlier this year, the NRA launched a campaign to derail Murthy’s nomination because he voiced support for expanding background checks for gun purchases. His comments that gun violence was a public health concern raised the ire of the gun lobby and conservative lawmakers despite the fact that every major medical association — and several former Surgeons General under Republican presidents — shared the same view.

Todd questioned the wisdom of giving the NRA any kind of influence over the country’s top public health position, but Blunt rejected the notion that the NRA played any role in Murthy’s confirmation. “I’m not sure that’s why, you’d have to ask Senator Reid why he hasn’t move that to the top of his list to be confirmed.”

After the NRA began publicly opposing Murthy’s nomination, several of Blunt’s Republican colleagues including Rand Paul, John Cornyn and John Barrasso said they too would move to block Murthy’s nomination, and Paul placed a hold on the nomination. ... "

yrs,
rubato

[oldr_n_wsr]

So it was never put up for a vote. Gotcha.

[MajGenl.Meade]

I guess Harry got it wrong then? This is from February 2014 - Boston Globe:

WASHINGTON—Kentucky Senator Rand Paul placed a procedural hurdle in front of Dr. Vivek Murthy’s confirmation as surgeon general Wednesday morning, citing his political activity for the Obama administration. But a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said it would not cause a meaningful delay in Murthy’s confirmation vote, which has not yet been scheduled.

“I have serious concerns about Dr. Murthy’s ability to impartially serve as ‘the Nation’s Doctor,’” Paul, a Republican, wrote in a letter to Reid. “The majority of Dr. Murthy’s non-clinical experience is in political advocacy.”

Murthy, a doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, founded Doctors for America, a national organization of 16,000 doctors and medical students that has advocated for the Affordable Care Act and gun control.

“Dr. Murthy has disqualified himself from being Surgeon General because of his intent to use that position to launch an attack on Americans’ right to own a firearm under the guise of a public health and safety campaign,” Paul wrote.

Paul’s criticisms echoed concerns from other Republicans voiced during Murthy’s confirmation hearing earlier this month in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. But at that hearing, at least one critic said he expected Murthy ultimately would be confirmed. Murthy promised during the hearing that he would focus on public health education rather than politics. Paul, who serves on the committee, did not attend the hearing.

Reid’s spokesman, Adam Jentleson, said in an email Wednesday that revised Senate procedures, which now allow filibusters of nominees to be overcome by a simple majority vote, will render Paul’s efforts to place what is known as a “hold” on the confirmation less effective than they were in the past. He noted that Paul had recently placed holds on other nominations, including Janet Yellen, who was confirmed to lead the Federal Reserve in January.

He said the only practical effect of Paul’s action would be forcing the Senate to take an additional vote to schedule confirmation, something that has become routine because of the sharp increase in delay tactics in recent years. In November, Reid led a vote to streamline such votes on presidential nominations, changing Senate rules to allow them to pass with 51 votes instead of 60. Republicans objected, saying the Senate’s bipartisan spirit had been curtailed.

Five days ago:

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) was among Democrats telling the White House he would “very likely vote no” on Murthy, and the nomination hasn’t come to the floor. Reid could bring Murthy up for a vote after midterm elections, though, and argue that the nomination needs to be pushed through quickly because of the health crisis.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) today urged Obama to pull the nomination, arguing that now more than ever American needs an experienced surgeon general. “Americans are justifiably worried about the spread of Ebola and concerned that it could reach their families. In the middle of growing uncertainty, President Obama and his team need to do everything possible to give the American people more confidence that their government is working effectively to prevent any more people from contracting this deadly virus,” Barrasso said in a statement. “Now more than ever, our nation needs to have an experienced and effective Surgeon General to help coordinate the government’s Ebola strategy.”

The senator, who as an orthopedic surgeon was president of the Wyoming Medical Society, noted that “it has been clear for almost a year that the president’s nominee Dr. Vivek Murthy is not the right person for this consequential job....His nomination has stalled in the Senate for months because members from both sides of the aisle are concerned that Dr. Murthy is primarily known for his advocacy for gun control and his fundraising capabilities on behalf of the president. These ‘qualifications’ will not solve the wide range of public health problems currently facing Americans,” he said.

The CAUSE of the delay and the vacancy is the unwillingness of the administration to risk a nomination fight in which many of the Democrat party will defect. Hence, it has not been brought to the floor for debate and vote.

It's really total bullshit (on both sides and at each end of the aisle) to say that a "Surgeon General" makes a fart's worth of difference in handling ebola. Besides, that Admiral guy is the acting Surgeon General so isn't he acting?

[oldr_n_wsr]

so isn't he acting?

she's acting happy
he's flying in his taxi, making tips and gettin stoned.