.
"Samaritan’s Purse
has been working in Liberia since 2003 ."...
10/16/14, "Aid group leader: Africa's Ebola standards higher than CDC's," The Hill, Sarah Ferris
"U.S. standards for protecting healthcare workers from Ebola are
weaker than those widely used in West Africa, according to the leader of
a group treating victims of the virus in Liberia.
“We’re not
comfortable with [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)]
procedures,” Ken Isaacs, the vice president of Samaritan's Purse, told
The Hill.
When Samaritan's Purse health workers treat patients in Liberia, they
wear two pairs of gloves and spray themselves with disinfectant twice
before leaving the isolation ward. They have a three-foot “no touch”
policy and hold safety meetings every day.
In U.S. hospitals —
such as Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, which has had three
cases of Ebola — workers don't have to hose down their gear and are told it’s OK [CDC dead link] for gloves to expose their wrists.
“If you slip, and you touch your skin on the wrist, you’re going to get
Ebola,” said Isaacs, who has worked on-the-ground disaster relief in
countries like Haiti, the Philippines and Bosnia.
“Can we trust CDC? They said they were going to stop it in its tracks, but I don’t know."
The
CDC has faced a tide of criticism this week after two nurses contracted
Ebola after treating a Liberian man, Thomas Eric Duncan, who was
diagnosed with the disease in Dallas.
Both nurses had cared for
Duncan daily, but because he was not immediately diagnosed with Ebola at
the hospital, they reportedly did not wear special protective gear for
two days during that treatment.
CDC protocols only
require double gloving — as well as shoe or leg coverings — in
circumstances where there are “copious amounts of blood, other body
fluids, vomit, or feces.”
Dr. Tom Frieden, the director of the
CDC, has said “any hospital with an intensive care unit” can stop the
disease from spreading. He told reporters Wednesday that the CDC still
does not know how the two nurses, Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, became
infected. President Obama has ordered an expedited investigation
examining the missteps.
National Nurses United, the country’s
largest nurses union, has unleashed fierce criticism of the hospital
this week, alleging that the disease spread because of incompetent
management and poor training.
Brianna Aguirre, a nurse at the Dallas hospital, told NBC's “Today Show” on Thursday that she has watched people at her hospital “violate basic principles of nursing care and medical care.”
She said her garb left parts of her neck exposed, and some nurses would
use tape to cover the area. She added that potentially exposed nurses
would go into other patients’ rooms without disinfectants.
The CDC raised its standards for
protective gear this week to include garb that does not expose a
worker's neck. It also added “an enhanced and detailed step-by-step
disinfection of hands.”
The hospital released a statement Thursday saying its staff wore protective gear “as recommended by the CDC at the time.”
“Staff
had shoe covers, face shields were required, and an N-95 mask was
optional — again, consistent with the CDC guidelines at the time,” the
hospital’s statement reads. It also says that the hospital “sought
additional guidance and clarity” from the CDC.
Pham and Vinson
were among the more than 70 healthcare workers who cared for Duncan, who
at times had “extensive production of body fluids,” Frieden said. None
of those healthcare workers were on the CDC’s list of people to monitor
because of exposure to Duncan.
Isaacs said all nurses should
have been constantly monitored for 21 days after their exposure to
Duncan, who died last week. During a 21-day monitoring period, staff are
also required to report their temperature four times a day.
CDC’s policy says those people don't need to be isolated, which Isaacs
said is basically telling them that they “can live a normal life.”
“I don’t think that’s safe, Samaritans Purse doesn't think that’s safe,” Isaacs said.
After two of its workers were diagnosed, the hospital announced
late Wednesday that any of its “impacted employees” can request a room
at the hospital to avoid potential exposure to others.
“We are
doing this for our employees’ peace of mind and comfort. This is not a
medical recommendation,” the hospital said. It also said the affected
employees have been asked “to be the good citizens” and avoid public
transportation.
Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer at the
hospital, is expected to apologize for the potentially deadly mistakes
in prepared testimony for a Thursday House hearing. Frieden will testify
at that hearing.
Fears were raised Wednesday after the CDC
announced that Vinson had flown from Cleveland to Dallas on a commercial
flight just hours before she began showing symptoms. Frieden said that
all 132 passengers are now asked to self-report and undergo monitoring
out of an abundance of caution.
Frieden said Vinson "should not have" flown,
though the risk of transmission was “extremely low” because Vinson had
no Ebola-like symptoms. While she had a 99.5 fever, he said it didn’t
meet the threshold for Ebola.
Isaacs said he was alarmed by CDC’s response.
“To this day, in Liberia, if someone has a temperature of 99.5, they are not getting on the airplane,” Issacs said." via Free Republic
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10/9/14, "Samaritan’s Purse extends Ebola aid to remote villages," citizen-times.com, Dale Neal, Boone, North Carolina
"Samaritan’s Purse has developed illustrated, step-by-step training
materials for this initiative. Each family also receives a home care kit
that includes head-to-toe protective gear for one person, medicines,
hydration items, disinfectants and a sprayer....
Samaritan’s Purse has already begun implementing this new program in
villages along the River Gee. With no Ebola treatments units or
community care centers operating in that part of Liberia, families are
left with no option but to care for their loved ones at home. Along with
the home-based care initiative, the organization will build the first
Community Care Center in River Gee County....
Samaritan’s Purse
has been working in Liberia since 2003 to meet the food, clean water,
medical care and other basic needs of people across the country. On Oct.
1, Samaritan’s Purse airlifted 100 tons of relief supplies to Liberia
to fight Ebola, including thousands of home care kits."
.
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