RN Detained and Quarantined As Ebola Hysteria Reaches a New Low

[MissyWrite]

NJ and NY have instituted a policy of placing health workers into mandatory 21-day quarantine upon their return from West Africa if they came into contact with Ebola patients.

This new policy is a reaction to unfounded public hysteria surrounding Dr. Craig Spencer's return to NYC after working with Doctors Without Borders, and his subsequent diagnosis of Ebola, after he had taken the subway and gone bowling. People fear Ebola can be spread through casual contact with an asymptomatic person, even though public health experts say there's plenty of scientific evidence indicating that isn't the case.

Is this policy based on the facts about Ebola transmission? Is it based on science? No, it's not, and in fact no one is saying that it is:

"Voluntary quarantine is almost an oxymoron," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said. "We've seen what happens. ... You ride a subway. You ride a bus. You could infect hundreds and hundreds of people."

"Public health experts say there's plenty of scientific evidence indicating that there's very little chance that a random person will get Ebola, unless they are in very close contact -- close enough to share bodily fluids -- with someone who has it.

Still, there's also a sense that authorities have to do something because of Americans' fears -- rational or not -- and belief that the country is better off being safe than sorry.

Osterholm says, "You want to try to eliminate not just real risk, but perceived risk."

Mike Osterholm is an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota.

Because of this irrational "perceived" risk, Kaci Hickox, 33, an RN who has been caring for Ebola patients while on assignment with Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone, was detained at the airport, interrogated for hours, and placed in mandatory quarantine at a New Jersey hospital upon her return to the U.S. on Friday.

She has tested negative in a preliminary test for Ebola, and she does not have a fever, but the hospital says she will remain under mandatory quarantine for 21 days. She is not allowed to leave the hospital, unless officials reconsider that decision.

Here are some excerpts from her experience so far:

I am a nurse who has just returned to the U.S. after working with Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone - an Ebola-affected country. I have been quarantined in New Jersey. This is not a situation I would wish on anyone, and I am scared for those who will follow me...

I arrived at the Newark Liberty International Airport around 1 p.m. on Friday, after a grueling two-day journey from Sierra Leone. I walked up to the immigration official...

I told him that I have traveled from Sierra Leone and he replied, a little less enthusiastically: "No problem. They are probably going to ask you a few questions."...

He put on gloves and a mask and called someone. Then he escorted me to the quarantine office a few yards away. I was told to sit down. Everyone that came out of the offices was hurrying from room to room in white protective coveralls, gloves, masks, and a disposable face shield.

One after another, people asked me questions. Some introduced themselves, some didn't. One man who must have been an immigration officer because he was wearing a weapon belt that I could see protruding from his white coveralls barked questions at me as if I was a criminal.

Two other officials asked about my work in Sierra Leone. One of them was from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I was tired, hungry and confused, but I tried to remain calm. My temperature was taken using a forehead scanner and it read a temperature of 98. I was feeling physically healthy but emotionally exhausted.

Three hours passed. No one seemed to be in charge. No one would tell me what was going on or what would happen to me.

I called my family to let them know that I was OK. I was hungry and thirsty and asked for something to eat and drink. I was given a granola bar and some water. I wondered what I had done wrong.

Four hours after I landed at the airport, an official approached me with a forehead scanner. My cheeks were flushed, I was upset at being held with no explanation. The scanner recorded my temperature as 101. The female officer looked smug. "You have a fever now," she said. I explained that an oral thermometer would be more accurate and that the forehead scanner was recording an elevated temperature because I was flushed and upset.

I was left alone in the room for another three hours. At around 7 p.m., I was told that I must go to a local hospital. I asked for the name and address of the facility. I realized that information was only shared with me if I asked.

Eight police cars escorted me to the University Hospital in Newark. Sirens blared, lights flashed. Again, I wondered what I had done wrong.

At the hospital, I was escorted to a tent that sat outside of the building. The infectious disease and emergency department doctors took my temperature and other vitals and looked puzzled. "Your temperature is 98.6," they said. "You don't have a fever but we were told you had a fever."

After my temperature was recorded as 98.6 on the oral thermometer, the doctor decided to see what the forehead scanner records. It read 101. The doctor felts my neck and looked at the temperature again. "There's no way you have a fever," he said. "Your face is just flushed."

My blood was taken and tested for Ebola. It came back negative........

http://www.dallasnews.com/ebola/headlines/20141025-uta-grad-isolated-at-new-jersey-hospital-as-part-of-ebola-quarantine.ece

This is what happens to nurses when public ignorance and hysteria is placated by politicians.

We've already seen nurses blamed for just about everything Ebola-related since the first case in Dallas, and now we see a nurse being held against her will, for no reason except to make scared people "feel safer."

"It does present serious civil liberties questions," said Norman Siegel, a civil liberties lawyer in New York and the former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. "Historically, we've had these kinds of issues occur previously, and the courts then resolved the individual liberty issue against the larger concerns of the public's health concerns. So it then becomes a factual issue, the fact that she tested negative."

"It's completely unnecessary," said Harvard's Ashish Jha, the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute).

"I'm a believer in an abundance of caution but I'm not a believer of an abundance of idiocy."

[MissyWrite]

Does anyone else find it ironic that physicians are supporting Kaci far more than her nursing peers? (If AN is a snapshot of today's nurses?)

Unfortunately, having been an RN for 25 years left me with this truth: Nurses are their own worst enemies. I think I'll start a separate thread or maybe write a book, since the answer doesn't belong in this thread.

I find it odd that so many people who are incensed about "losing their rights" in a variety of arenas are perfectly content and anxious for this female nurse to simply shut up and allow herself to be detained and quarantined (give up her rights) simply because ignorant people are afraid. They are offended by her actions and stance, as if she doesn't know her proper place in society.

It's more than odd -- it's frightening. But history is filled with examples of fearful people removing those they are afraid of from society, in one way or another. And yes, it's made worse because the person in this case is a nurse because it seems the overall feeling is that she should be 'selfless' and demure and passive and submissive and quiet while those who think those things strip her of her liberty for no reason, forcibly detain her in deplorable conditions, and deny her due process.

When humans are afraid they will do horrible things to each other to ensure their own existence, and they will find a way to justify it. Civilized, intelligent behavior goes out the window when people are scared. Next thing you know, an innocent person is banished to a tent and denied access to an attorney, and lots of people think it's just fine and think she should just shut up and quietly submit to the 'inconvenience.' Scary.

[OCNRN63, RN]

What you don't like Rachel Maddow? You quoted me in your post, so unsure what you meant.

​I wasn't commenting on Rachel Maddow. I was noting the fact that doctors are more supportive of Kaci Hickox than nurses.

[Susie2310]

Yes, I have noticed, and I think it speaks to a rampant ignorance of actual science among practicing nurses. It is humiliating to those of us who take science seriously and have advocated for the profession. It is a huge set back for our position, which is that nurses need to be respected and awarded parity as full partners of the health care team. How can I argue that with a straight face now?

So the science in regard to Ebola is only comprised of research by scientists/professionals who share your position? No opposing or neutral scientific contributions have merit?

[FLAlleycat]

Kaci has challenged hysteria and won! Hopefully, this will be somewhat of a landmark case in protecting individuals'/groups' rights in the face of public panic, not to include just HCP but teachers, students, college applicants, visitors from Africa (or Dallas).

[FLAlleycat]

Thanks. Rachel Maddow is funny!

I'm glad you enjoyed the video. R. Maddow's introduction was hysterical (in a good way)

[toomuchbaloney]

So the science in regard to Ebola is only comprised of research by scientists/professionals who share your position? No opposing or neutral scientific contributions have merit?

Have some credible opposing scientific contributions been presented which indicate that anyone who has had contact with an ebola victim must be quarantined for at least 21 days regardless of their symptom status?

[MissyWrite]

Here's something for those saying "But the military is quarantining the returning troops! That means everyone should be quarantined!"

"Unlike uniformed personnel, civilians who work for the military cannot be compelled to enter a strict quarantine if they have no symptoms or didn’t come into contact with someone with Ebola, Adm. Kirby said.

'We legally can’t force them to undergo controlled monitor regimen the way we can with uniformed troops,' Adm. Kirby said."

[h=1]Pentagon Ebola Quarantine Takes Effect, But Civilians Excepted[/h]http://online.wsj.com/articles/pentagon-ebola-quarantine-takes-effect-but-civilians-excepted-1414783122

[Bengalcat]

So the science in regard to Ebola is only comprised of research by scientists/professionals who share your position? No opposing or neutral scientific contributions have merit?

Given that some of the more zealous commentators on this list have thrown an infectious disease researcher with a Nobel Prize onto the pile of the scientifically-challenged, that’s a club I don’t mind belonging to.

[FLAlleycat]

Re the statement by Dr.Bruce Beutler, the Nobel Prize Winner, he says "People may have said that without symptoms you can't transmit Ebola. I'm not sure about that being 100 percent true. There's a lot of variation with viruses," (see Nobel Prize winner: Ebola can be spread by people who show no symptoms - NaturalNews.com)

But I cannot find any research saying an asymptomatic person has been shown to actually transmit the disease. Meanwhile, WHO still recommends self-monitoring and not quarantines as do all major researchers of Ebola epidemics. It's a real pity Louisiana has banned all researchers (how embarrassing is this!) who have even just visited W Africa (much less cared for pts with Ebola) from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene next week. Should be interesting.

[MissyWrite]

Today is the day Nina Pham will be reunited with her beloved dog, Bentley!

When I watched Nina's press conference as she was released from NIH, I noticed something. She was very serious and somewhat nervous as she thanked everyone and said she was looking forward to seeing her family. She didn't smile at all. That is, UNTIL she said she was looking forward to seeing her dog, Bentley. At that moment, her face lit up and she broke into the biggest smile ever.

She found out that she wasn't allowed to see him, though. He was still quarantined, and the vets caring for him said that if he saw Nina, and then was left alone in confinement again, it would do more harm than good for his mental health. I think that was a good call. But the day is finally here.

"Dallas nurse Nina Pham, who last week was declared Ebola-free and discharged from the National Institutes of Health's hospital in Maryland, will finally reunite with her dog, Bentley, who has been in quarantine for 21 days over fears that he, too, would develop the deadly virus.

"She's pretty excited," Dallas spokeswoman Sana Syed told ABC News. "We've been talking to her every day."

Pham is expected to reunite with Bentley Saturday morning, give a short statement and accept a gift basket filled with donations from people around the country, Syed said.

Inside Dallas Ebola Survivor Nina Pham's Touching Reunion With Bentley the Dog - ABC News

On the other hand, I feel sorry for the Spanish nursing assistant whose dog was euthanized. Last week I read that she and her husband were devastated. The described their pup as "the son they never had." Sad.

[chadrn65]

Today is the day Nina Pham will be reunited with her beloved dog, Bentley!

When I watched Nina's press conference as she was released from NIH, I noticed something. She was very serious and somewhat nervous as she thanked everyone and said she was looking forward to seeing her family. She didn't smile at all. That is, UNTIL she said she was looking forward to seeing her dog, Bentley. At that moment, her face lit up and she broke into the biggest smile ever.

She found out that she wasn't allowed to see him, though. He was still quarantined, and the vets caring for him said that if he saw Nina, and then was left alone in confinement again, it would do more harm than good for his mental health. I think that was a good call. But the day is finally here.

"Dallas nurse Nina Pham, who last week was declared Ebola-free and discharged from the National Institutes of Health's hospital in Maryland, will finally reunite with her dog, Bentley, who has been in quarantine for 21 days over fears that he, too, would develop the deadly virus.

"She's pretty excited," Dallas spokeswoman Sana Syed told ABC News. "We've been talking to her every day."

Pham is expected to reunite with Bentley Saturday morning, give a short statement and accept a gift basket filled with donations from people around the country, Syed said.

Inside Dallas Ebola Survivor Nina Pham's Touching Reunion With Bentley the Dog - ABC News

On the other hand, I feel sorry for the Spanish nursing assistant whose dog was euthanized. Last week I read that she and her husband were devastated. The described their pup as "the son they never had." Sad.

Yes, I too noticed Nina's big smile and how she glowed when she mentioned Bentley! I definitely want to see the coverage on her & Bentley today. I too felt sorry for the nursing assistant and her husband in Spain.

As I said in another thread, "there's nothing better than the love of a dog!"

[chadrn65]

“Update at 12:22 p.m. October 31: Dallas City Hall now says Nina Pham and Bentley will be reunited Saturday morning at 9 a.m. — and they will be joined by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. Says the heads-up from the city, Pham “will be seeing Bentley for the first time since he was placed in isolation and will be taking him home.”

“We have also asked the city how much it cost to care for Bentley since he was placed in isolation. Says city spokesperson Sana Syed via email, “Since the isolation period is still not over, we are in the process of determining how much this effort cost. The cost of Bentley’s care has been a collaborative effort through the City of Dallas, Texas Animal Health Commission, Texas A&M, TDSHS, Dallas County and community support.” We likely won’t know how much it cost until mid-November.”

Update: Mayor Rawlings, Judge Jenkins to join Nina Pham and her dog Bentley at Saturday morning’s reunion | Dallas Morning News