Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
October 16, 2014 01:00 AM

Texas hospital official apologizes for misdiagnosing Ebola case

Virgil Dickson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    AP
    CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden testifies on the U.S. Ebola response before a House subcommittee.

    An official from the hospital system that owns Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas has apologized for initially misdiagnosing the symptoms of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first U.S. patient to die from Ebola.

    At least two of the hospital’s workers who cared for him have also contracted the disease.

    “In our initial treatment of Mr. Duncan, despite our best intentions and a highly skilled medical team, we made mistakes. We did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of Ebola,” Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer and senior executive vice president for Texas Health Resources, said in written testimony (PDF) submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Varga, as well as CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden and several other Obama administration officials, were called to testify before the committee Thursday.

    Related Content

    Texas Health responds to nurses union's allegations about Ebola protocols

    Second Dallas healthcare worker tests positive for Ebola

    Emory hospital to care for second Dallas health worker with Ebola

    Frieden suggested in his prepared testimony (PDF) that the protocols for treating Ebola patients were not good enough.

    “While we do not yet know exactly how these transmissions occurred, they demonstrate the need to strengthen the procedures for infection-control protocols which allowed for exposure to the virus,” Frieden wrote in his testimony. He added that “we are working very hard to investigate the situation, but are not waiting for the completion of this investigation and have already helped the hospital implement new measures for safety.”

    Varga said in his testimony that the cause of nurse Nina Pham's infection was still unknown and insisted that all the preventive protocols of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention were followed. The hospital continues to investigate how the virus was transmitted to Pham, who cared for Duncan, and a second Texas Health Presbyterian nurse, Amber Vinson.

    The CDC has increased education and training of healthcare workers at the hospital. Meanwhile, Vinson has been transported to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, which has a specialized unit for treating patients with infectious diseases. Pham was scheduled to be admitted Thursday night to the specialized containment unit at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., NIH official Dr. Anthony Fauci said during the hearing.

    Varga also apologized in his prepared testimony for Texas Health Presbyterian's release of faulty information about the sequence of events. “In our effort to communicate to the public quickly and transparently, we inadvertently provided some information that was inaccurate and had to be corrected,” he said. “No doubt that was unsettling to a community that was already concerned and confused, and we have learned from that experience as well.”

    At one point, the health system blamed a flaw in the workflows of its electronic health-record system for failing to convey to everyone on the clinical team that he told a nurse he had recently traveled from Liberia. That statement was later retracted.

    Lawmakers pushed hard during the hearing for the administration to impose a travel ban on people traveling from West African nations, where the outbreak has killed more than 4,000 people. Many U.S. hospitals, they said, are not prepared to handle an infected patient.

    They expressed particular concern for community health centers and rural hospitals that may not have appropriate protective equipment.

    Lawmakers also questioned whether the training materials the CDC has distributed electronically were sufficient to prepare the nation's hospitals.

    Varga testified that although Texas Health Resources hospitals started receiving CDC bulletins on Ebola in July, there were no CDC-led trainings or drills.

    Follow Virgil Dickson on Twitter: @MHvdickson

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    finance graphs hospital
    Primary care physicians' pay growth picked up in 2022: MGMA
    Home cancer treatment faces challenges post-pandemic
    Home cancer treatment faces challenges post-pandemic
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing