<p>Huh? i was answering a question about relationships and I did not get the impression that he and son son were in contact. Skype or otherwise. That is what I said and that is what I meant. The D said she called him her stepdaddy and said also she met him that week. Fine by me. Sometimes, I wonder what people are reading on here. There’s all this distracting anti-judging stuff when the judging is all in the readers imagination. And, the hospital might care about who is and isn’t family when calling about or patient or trying to sue them. Please stop making up a sub-text. It’s getting annoying. And, it’s inaccurate. </p>
<p>According to HIPPA regulations who is and isn’t family or next of kin is pretty important. It’s all running together now but at some point there was mention of family members not feeling like they were getting appropriate health updates. Well, legally they hospital can’t just call the future step daughter or nephew and give them health information. I remember once calling our dental insurance company to update our son’s birthdate in their system and they wouldn’t accept the information over the phone from me as his mother because they were on my husband’s policy. We needed special paperwork for me to be able to provide information . . . forget about getting information. It made no matter that I gave birth to the kid!</p>
<p>Exactly! All the “the family” stuff was beginning to bug me because technically they just aren’t. They have no standing to bring a lawsuit unless they want to claim the hospital mistake injured them which they may but that’s not the case they’re making. The four people being called his family through most of this are a girlfriend and her son from a previous marriage, a half nephew and his friend Then there’s the girlfriend’s daughter and her boyfriend and their children. And a half brother in NC. </p>
<p>More recently, a half sister, her son, and his mother came to town with Jesse Jackson which finally solves the family problem.They also brought a spokeswoman who held her first press conference today saying they feel his treatment was unfair due to his uninsured immigrant status and his race, basically.</p>
<p>Hopefully. my point is now clear. 
</p>
<p>This is different from any idea of family bond, extended family, community etc. In my book people are certainly free to value those extended relationships and consider themselves to be kin. However, it is like claiming that every “Auntie” in an Amy Tan novel should be able to call the hospital and legally obtain patient information.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the obsession with the details of Duncan’s family relationships. The important thing is that a patient with Ebola showed up in an American ER. It was bound to happen. In this case, it could have been handled better, both by the hospital and by the local authorities. IMO the important question is: What lessons can be learned for next time?</p>
<p>Very true. It has gone to that place as more and more people have stepped forward to be the mouthpiece for the family and make statements to the media. If one of the care complaints is lack of timely information provided to family members then taking a minute to establish who is actually legally family for medical records purposes isn’t completely off in the weeds. The discrimination claims have IMO been a distraction from the actual evaluation of what was done and what should be done differently next time. This is exactly why health care best practices have trouble evolving. Everyone gets into a CYA crouch and clams up about how they could have prevented bad outcomes where possible.</p>
<p>AW,
The repeated smacks at the CDC and administration add nothing but flame to a civil discussion. And political commentary may be against the TOS.</p>
<p>Flossy, don’t worry–your point has been clear all along. </p>
<p>Just a little over a week of quarantine to go for Duncan’s contacts. Fingers crossed they all stay healthy. We will really have dodged a bullet if nobody caught it from him.</p>
<p>The Spanish nurse is improving, according to the news.</p>
<p>^You are a messenger of good news this morning. We may be lucky this time and dodged the bullet. Generally it takes 8-10 to show symptoms if infected. From now on, it’s less likely, I think. I just hope the family stops lawsuit talk and we can feel good that at least the guy got good care at the end of his life.</p>
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<p>I do have a simple suggestion - how about just letting the moderators do their jobs. I believe they do just fine in moderating, even when I disagree with them. They do have a method. </p>
<p>You are correct that discussing politics is against the TOS. However, you seem not to understand the distinction between politics and policy. Discussing policy is not against the TOS. For example, you may wish to visit the thread that openly discusses the ACA and many openly disagree with the provisions of that law and point out its flaws and inconsistencies. If that were against the TOS to discuss policy, there would very little substantive discussion on major issues. </p>
<p>All I pointed out, rather astutely, is there are people who want the healthcare workers in Dallas to get things absolutely perfect and correct on the first shot on dealing with Ebola and advocate suing them, even when it is being demonstrated that the government institutions and leaders responsible for guiding these healthcare workers are themselves not getting things correct and are highly inconsistent. That is not politics; that is logic and fact. One should not expect from employees what you cannot demonstrate yourself - leading by example does work.</p>
<p>In the larger scheme of things, Ebola did not get to Dallas on its own accord; it got there as the result of some CDC and other government policy(s), which may be an errant one(s), and to not discuss that means we defacto become stupid Americans with our heads in the sand simply following what a government institution says, even if illogical. That strikes me, as a rather unintellectual, mind-numb way to live.</p>
<p>In general though, I recommend that you get intellectually comfortable reading and subsequently ignoring things you do not like, especially when factual and backed up with quotes. I do it all the time. Seriously, try ignoring things you do not like to hear or agree with. It works.</p>
<p>If nothing else this is a wakeup call for the CDC to communicate protocols better and for individual hospitals to pay closer attention to global health issues rather than wait until the “first case” of something to practice dealing with it.</p>
<p>In my opinion, it would go a long way if we all supported funding for research on infectious diseases and also for our local communities to have the tools they need to deal with a major public health issue. We should also encourage people with anti-science mindsets to open their eyes (this includes the anti-vaccine people). I do agree with awcntdb that we have a lot of “stupid Americans” but IMO more of the stupidity lies in a) not knowing or caring what’s going on in other parts of the world and b) thinking they know more than the scientific community. In a situation like an Ebola outbreak, this is a very dangerous way to live–and it affects everybody, not just those with their heads in the sand.</p>
<p>NJ has placed the NBC news team that was in contact with the infected cameraman under enforced quarantine after someone violated quarantine. No link - just a tv news item.</p>
<p>Found a link
<a href=“New Jersey Enforces Isolation Order for NBC Crew Exposed to Ebola Patient – NBC10 Philadelphia”>New Jersey Enforces Isolation Order for NBC Crew Exposed to Ebola Patient – NBC10 Philadelphia;
<p>It appears this thread is unable to stay on point. Closing.</p>