What do you think of the CDC? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

When SARS, H1N1, and other infectious diseases began to threaten people in the United States nurses were able to use the CDC information to proactively insist our facilities educate all direct care staff and provide sufficient protective equipment needed to care for suspected or actual infected patients.

CDC information and guidelines helped us advocate for our patients.

In April of 2014 we did the same to plan for Ebola.

In September hundreds of nurses held a Die In” as a stunt to bring attention to nurses stating that we didn't believe U.S. hospitals could handle an Ebola outbreak.

Researching Ebola we discovered that two University hospitals, Emory and Nebraska Medical, had published standards for protective gear along with donning and removal technique.

Realizing the CDC recommendations were inadequate we informed our hospitals that in order to protect our patients, colleagues, the public, and ourselves we must insist they implement the Emory and Nebraska Medical standards.

National Nurses United Nursing Practice & Patient Advocacy Alert—Treatment of Patients with Ebola:Nursing Practice & Patient Advocacy Alert—Treatment of Patients with Ebola | National Nurses United

After the first patient died and his nurse was infected the CDC came out with new guidelines.

https://allnurses.com/disasters-preparing-responding/cdc-unveils-new-955089.html

This was discussed here

https://allnurses.com/disasters-preparing-responding/urgent-are-cdc-954160.html

CDC web site:

CDC′s Work Saves Lives Everywhere, Every Day

| About | CDC

Do you and/or your facility use the CDC site and publications?

Did you learn about the CDC in nursing school?

I will be glad if you share your experiences with the CDC, it's information, and such.

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

Just this weekend an opinion was published about the CDC (Below)

August 27, 2016, 08:30 am

What is going on at the CDC? Health agency ethics need scrutiny

By Carey Gillam, contributor

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have their hands full these days. An epidemic of obesity has hit Americans hard, raising the risks for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. Childhood obesity is a particular prevalent problem…

… A Mexican soda tax correlated with a similar drop in soda purchases, according to research published earlier this year. One would expect the efforts would be heartily applauded by the CDC. And indeed, earlier this year a CDC research report said more aggressive measures were needed to convince Americans to cut back on sugary drinks.

But behind the scenes, mounting evidence suggests that rather than cracking down on the soda industry, high-ranking officials within the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion are instead cozying up to beverage giant Coca-Cola and its industry allies, even in some cases aiding the industry as it argues that sodas are not to blame…

What is going on at the CDC? Health agency ethics need scrutiny | TheHill

[heron, ASN, RN]

Anybody remember when NYC tried to ban outsized sodas?

The CDC is not the only agency getting cozy with the industry they're supposed to regulate. But I often wonder what we expect them to do. They are funded by a congress dominated by anti-regulatory free-marketers who have already hamstrung public health research on gun violence and are doing their level best to do the same to climate research, campaign finance, environmental protection, taxation and public education, just to name a few.

Any agency that actually regulates the way it's supposed to is fiercely attacked as "big government gone wild" while their budgets are cut to the bone and legislators bloviate about abolishing them.

Context, people ... context! Regulatory capture is a Thing for every major industry - they work hard at it and use every legislator money can buy to accomplish it.