Parkland Hospital and area doctors are trying to deal with the Ebola crisis by getting out the facts and minimizing the hysteria generated by broadcast media.
Parkland released a video about the procedures its staff is taking to minimize contact with the virus and a reference page with links and information about the virus and how it is spread.
Dr. David Lee from Uptown Physicians sent his patients a letter acknowledging the fear, predicting several more cases will appear in Dallas but minimizing alarm by assuring the virus will be contained.
Here’s Dr. Lee’s letter to his patients, reprinted with his permission:
Ebola Virus
David Lee on Oct. 15, 2014 1:37:37 p.m.
We understand the worries being expressed by patients concerning the Ebola virus. It is a scary virus, but one which eventually will be contained in the US. I do suspect we will see more cases in Dallas and the US, but there is no reason to be alarmed at this time. Unlike the flu virus which is easily spread, the Ebola virus is only spread by direct contact with bodily fluids. We are instituting protocols at Uptown Physicians Group to screen for any potential patients with Ebola before they come to our clinic. To be clear, if you think you may have been exposed to someone with Ebola, DO NOT COME TO OUR OFFICE. Please call our office and/or send a portal message and we can help direct your care. You will need to go directly to an emergency room which is equipped to test for Ebola and institute quarantine if necessary. Labcorp does not offer testing, so we cannot test anyone in our office for Ebola. If you have traveled to Western Africa or potentially have been exposed to someone with Ebola, again, you will need to go directly to the emergency room.
Flu season is on the way, and there is currently a viral syndrome causing upper respiratory symptoms circulating in the community, so differentiating which viral illness you have becomes very important. Thus when you call to make an anointment, you will be asked about any potential travel or Ebola exposure. Again, if there is any chance you could have been exposed to Ebola, DO NOT COME TO OUR OFFICE. We will direct you to an emergency room where testing, quarantine, and treatment can be initiated.
Below is a CDC statement which was released today:
“On the morning of Oct. 14, the second healthcare worker reported to the hospital with a low-grade fever and was isolated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that the second healthcare worker who tested positive last night for Ebola traveled by air Oct. 13, the day before she reported symptoms.
Because of the proximity in time between the evening flight and first report of illness the following morning, CDC is reaching out to passengers who flew on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth Oct. 13.
CDC is asking all 132 passengers on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth on October 13 (the flight route was Cleveland to Dallas Fort Worth and landed at 8:16 p.m. CT) to call 1 800-CDC INFO (1 800 232 4636).”
If you were on this flight, please call the CDC ASAP for further instructions. As further pertinent information becomes available, we will send updates.
Sincerely,
Uptown Physicians Group
And here’s Parkland’s video. The precautions are the same as those being used at Presbyterian where two nurses who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the “index patient,” were infected with the virus.
This is a training video demonstrating the precautionary methods Parkland would use with a patient presenting symptoms of Ebola. The level of virus when a patient presents with simple fever is much lower than when a hospital is treating the patient with severe symptoms and these precautions should be sufficient. Doctors I’ve spoken to recommend full hazmat suits to treat an Ebola patient in isolation.
