Nurse who survived Ebola is suing the hospital

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Mar 2, 2015

So...it was her own fault for getting sick? Also, what American nurse IS qualified to care for these patients (with the exceptions of those who have gone overseas to help during outbreaks, of course)? Because no nurse at that hospital was qualified, they should all have refused to help him? I see what you're saying, but this situation, I believe, is different than me with no experience caring for pts under age 17, offering to float to the NICU to care for a 23-weeker. Let's not blame the victim.

If I accept an assignment I'm not qualified for, and the outcome is bad, what should happen?
If the hospital doesn't have the equipment to treat my patient, and I know the care is inadequate, what should happen to me?
There are consequences to nurses who knowingly engage in treatment that is inadequate for their patient.
Nina Pham continued to care for this patient knowing the protection was inadequate. She knew she was at risk and she proceeded anyway. She's either a better person than me, or a dumber nurse than me. Or both.
I don't care that she's suing her employer, though I believe she knew full well the danger she placed herself in.
She has bills to pay. She might be sued. There might be long term issues with the experimental drugs she took.
She volunteered to step into the room with the most dangerous disease in the world. She knew her iso equipment was inadequate. Her defense is that she didn't, but I'm crediting her with at least being as smart as me.
Anyway, she's sued and the hospital will settle. I wonder if that will start a trend?

allnurses Guide · Mar 2, 2015

Just two days before Mr. Duncan came to the ER and was discharged from the hospital registered nurses protested to express concern about United States hospital's state of preparedness including adequate supplies of personal protection equipment on hand, properly equipped isolation rooms, as well as protocols and training materials in place in the probable event of a person infected with Ebola coming to their facilities.

They did this because their concerns werw not taken seriously by their employers.

Nurses stage Ebola â€˜die-in' on Las Vegas Strip
Sept. 24, 2014
U.S. hospitals aren't ready for an Ebola outbreak, according to nurses who staged a "die-in" Wednesday outside a Las Vegas Strip resort where they were holding a union convention.
Many protesters in the crowd of about 1,000 who attended the Planet Nurse convention wore bright red T-shirts and suits resembling hazardous-materials gear as they streamed through the Planet Hollywood casino floor before crossing Las Vegas Boulevard to the Bellagio resort.
Ebola "can easily come to our shores, and we're not ready," said Julia Scott, a registered nurse from Largo Medical Center in Florida who was attending the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United convention.
At the sound of a gong, Scott and dozens of other protesters dropped to the sidewalk in front of the iconic Bellagio fountain, where others used chalk to outline their "dead" bodies, writing the hashtag #StopEbolaRNRN inside the tracings...
... It was followed by a moment of silence for international health workers who have died while caring for Ebola patients in West Africa.
"It's not acceptable that these people are dying," RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, told her fellow protestors.
U.S. policymakers are in denial, DeMoro said. "It is going to come here," she said...
... Roslyne Schulman, policy director for the American Hospital Association, said the group's members have been encouraged to follow the federal Centers for Disease Control's recommendations on infectious diseases such as Ebola.

"Hospitals are prepared to handle a broad range of infectious diseases. When there is a potential risk for particular infections in communities â€” such as Ebola â€” hospitals alert their clinical staff to increase surveillance for symptoms and risk factors associated with the specific disease," she said in an emailed statement...
... Valerie Loza, a protester and registered nurse at Mountainview Hospital in Las Vegas, said she feared local hospitals wouldn't be ready if Ebola reached the city.
"I'm the first line of defense," she said. "You don't know what could happen here."...
Nurses stage Ebola â€˜die-in' on Las Vegas Strip - Las Vegas Sun News

NurseRies, BSN, RN · Mar 2, 2015

I think a lot of people do not understand what nurses do. We are always the scapegoats for everything. Doctor writes a bad order, we follow it, our fault. Patient falls, nurse had 7 tele patients, our fault. Nurse contracts ebola while not being given proper PPE, our fault.

It's about time we stand up for ourselves and our rights. We deserve better conditions!

morte, LPN, LVN · Mar 2, 2015

The hospital will settle and she will get a large settlement.
The guy who lied and exposed the hospital and the rest of the community should of been taken out , and bullet put in his head and he should of been burned once they learned he had lied.

I far as a can remember, he didn't lie....

studentnursemon86 · Mar 2, 2015

As a CNA I contracted LTBI which went undiagnosed for years. I'm pretty sure that I know where it came from, but because it was years ago and the exposure went undocumented, I would have no case to sue. I was working 2 jobs and couldn't prove which one the exposure occurred at.

There is no comparison between TB and ebola, but I wish her well. I questioned her privacy as she was seen in the news. I say good for her for exposing the flaws in the system that put nurses and other healthcare personnel in harms way.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 2, 2015

Maybe someone can explain this for me. I don't understand why her employer is providing her with her regular paycheck. Shouldn't she be on short term disability while she is at home?

Because they know they are in the wrong.

caliotter3 · Mar 2, 2015

I am not asking about the PR reasoning. I am asking why the lady is not on disability. If this does not qualify for disability, at least short-term, I don't know what does.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Mar 2, 2015

I am not asking about the PR reasoning. I am asking why the lady is not on disability. If this does not qualify for disability, at least short-term, I don't know what does.

My guess is that she probably can't get it if she's being paid for her time already. Kind of like how STD doesn't kick in until after we exhaust our PTO hours (that's how it worked after having my babies, anyway). And since the hospital is paying her a full paycheck, she's better off taking that than whatever disability would pay her.

MatrixRn · Mar 2, 2015

They did? I didn't really get that sense. I mean, they treated her and transported her, but that's kind of bare minimum treatment? What are you referring to as evidence that they were going out of their way for her?

Okay maybe not out of their way, but they did treat her well.

It was the nurses providing the hands on care, so I would say the nursing staff went above and beyond.

Once the virus was known the CDC, stepped in and took over so they were in charge, but the hospital delivered the care. The CDC went to her apt, emptied it out and wanted to do away with the dog. That was not the facility.

FYI, I agree she should sue....but there are ample players in this arena aside from the hospital.

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Mar 2, 2015

If she does get compensated, I hope it's only for the amount of her medical bills/furnishing her apartment and future medical expenses (I read somewhere that her medical expenses from THR/NIH were taken care of & she didn't have to pay for anything). It doesn't surprise me that THR was not ready. With the exception of a few hospitals, the US was not prepared for Ebola. Nina needs to understand that outside of Emory & the NIH, THR was the first hospital to handle an Ebola case. They gave her the best care possible and then was sent to the NIH for further treatment. The CDC is more at fault here than THR. They're the ones who set the guidelines we have to follow. She should be going after the CDC for not prepping THR or any other hospital for Ebola.
I'm pretty sure it is her lawyer, Charla Aldous, who contacted her first and not Nina. It's payday for Charla and her firm. If they do go to court and Nina wins great. If they lose, what's Nina going to do without a job? No hospital in the area would want her for fear of a lawsuit. I hope they settle this outside of court.

Of course her medical bills are being paid for she is entitled to this thru workers comp. I think she deserves to win for her pain & suffering, future medical bills and the loss of all her belongings because they didn't provide adequate equipment! Not to mention a penalty should be awarded for the inadequate protections. That would send a resounding message to the rest of the nation's healthcare corporations that they must protect their workers! We are not expendable!

I doubt she wants to go back to her old job anyway and probably doesn't want to work as a nurse anymore. I can't imagine going back to a place that almost killed her due to their negligence!

I agree the CDC was at fault as well, but really simple masks and tape to cover exposed skin. Really! Nurses being expected to be janitors too! I don't feel sorry for Presby Hospital! I applaud Nina Pham and the other nurses who were forced to work in unsafe conditions and also the nurse who spoke out on national TV, sorry I don't remember her name.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Mar 2, 2015

Of course her medical bills are being paid for she is entitled to this thru workers comp. I think she deserves to win for her pain & suffering, future medical bills and the loss of all her belongings because they didn't provide adequate equipment! Not to mention a penalty should be awarded for the inadequate protections. That would send a resounding message to the rest of the nation's healthcare corporations that they must protect their workers! We are not expendable!
I doubt she wants to go back to her old job anyway and probably doesn't want to work as a nurse anymore. I can't imagine going back to a place that almost killed her due to their negligence!

From what some of the other nurses there said, they followed CDC protocol, which turned out to be inadequate. It took weeks for the CDC to modify their recommendations. I don't think it is fair to totally blame the hospital for this if they were in fact following the current CDC protocols.

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Mar 2, 2015

They didn't tape their necks. They taped the gowns so that their necks would no longer be exposed.

Same difference! The point is they didn't have adequate protection. Ebola is a level 4 danger and one should wear a hazmat suit with a respirator not a simple gown and mask!