Originally published November 4 2014
85% of U.S. hospitals have provided virtually no Ebola treatment training to nurses
by L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
(NaturalNews) Out of the 76 healthcare workers who crossed paths with deceased Ebola victim Thomas Duncan at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, two have come down with the disease. If the disease would have been properly identified the first time Duncan went to the hospital, more precautions could have been made. If the healthcare workers were properly trained from the start to ask the right questions and take proper safety precautions, then the two nurses may have never contacted the Ebola virus from Duncan.
Sadly, a new National Nurses United survey shows that 85 percent of US hospitals are unprepared and provide virtually no Ebola treatment training to nurses. This lack of preparation across the board make the medical system and individual hospitals a danger zone for Ebola spread. Without the proper protection equipment and waste-disposal procedures, hospitals are the last place anyone may want to be in a time of pandemic.
Thousands of nurses nationwide are concerned that their hospital is unprepared
Registered nurses throughout the US have grown concerned with the situation, since they are right in the cross hairs of a potential Ebola outbreak. National Nurses United held a press conference to address nurses' concerns, believing that hospitals are not properly prepared for a potential Ebola outbreak.
National Nurses United says US hospitals don't have the proper protections in place for nurses, including adequate access to hazmat suits and hands-on training that could bring confidence for RNs, instead of confusion.
"There is no standard short of optimal in protective equipment and hands-on-training that is acceptable," said RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, the largest US nurses union. More than 4,000 RNs signed up for the call to address their concerns about hospital preparedness and training protocols.
"Nurses and other frontline hospital personnel must have the highest level of protective equipment, such as the Hazmat suits Emery University or the CDC themselves use while transporting patients and hands on training and drills for all RNs and other hospital personnel including the practice putting on and taking off the optimal equipment," DeMoro said. "The time to act is long overdue."
Many hospitals lack proper isolation procedures and equipment, reports National Nurses United
A day before the call, National Nurses United welcomed RNs to fill out an important survey. Over 2,300 registered nurses responded, representing 780 facilities throughout 46 states and the District of Columbia.
In the survey, 85 percent of nurses reported that their hospital has not provided any education on Ebola, leaving them confused on what questions to ask patients and how to properly communicate concerns and suspicions with fellow hospital staff.
A whopping 40 percent said their hospital lacks necessary eye-protection gear like face shields, goggles or side shields. Another 38 percent said their facility had an insufficient amount of fluid-resistant/impermeable gowns in their hospital. Forty-one percent said their hospital doesn't even have the means to isolate patients if Ebola does sweep through, because there aren't enough plastic-covered mattresses and pillows for an emergency. This lack of preparedness means America could potentially look like Sierra Leone if Ebola gets out of control. Bodies could be left in the streets, because there's no room to treat them in the hospitals.
Shockingly, only 8 percent of respondents in the survey said that their hospital even has an isolation plan in place!
These results shook National Nurses United to the core, prompting the group to call on hospitals to immediately implement a full-scale emergency preparedness plan for a potential disease outbreak. They will be pressuring hospitals to train their personnel using appropriate protocol for outbreaks. This will spur hospitals to stock up on hazmat suits and personal protection equipment as hospital leaders begin equipping isolation rooms and implementing proper waste-disposal procedures.
Learn all these details and more at the FREE online Pandemic Preparedness course at www.BioDefense.com
Sources:
http://www.nationalnursesunited.org
http://www.latimes.com
http://science.naturalnews.com
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