Hospital staffers reportedly take sick day at Bellevue

[Robby999 1,024]

New York City's first Ebola patient is prompting frightened staffers tasked with his treatment at the city-run hospital in Manhattan to call in sick, according to a published report.

The New York Post reported Saturday that an "extraordinary number" of Bellevue Hospital staffers took a sick day Friday rather than treat Dr. Craig Spencer. And those who reported for work were petrified at having to enter his isolation ward, the paper added, citing sources.

"The nurses on the floor are miserable with a 'why me?' attitude, scared to death and overworked because all their co-workers called out sick," one source told the Post. "One nurse even went as far as to pretend she was having a stroke to get out of working there, but once they cleared her in the ER they sent her back," the source also told the paper.

But a spokeswoman for the public hospital denied there was any sickout. Ana Marengo told the Post the nurses treating the Doctors Without Borders volunteer are working in teams of two, "with one serving as a buddy watching the other."

The Post said Spencer, who is in stable condition, has been playing an active role in his recovery, putting his medical skills to use, lecturing the staff about proper treatment.

"As a doctor, he knows a lot about medicine, so he would call the nurse's station all day and going back and forth the doctors on what to do," the source told the Post.

Spencer is confined to a special room that is pressurized. He has been passing the hours in isolation watching TV and eating hospital food. No visitors are allowed but once his room is equipped with a video camera he’ll be able to Skype with pals.

The report of a sick-out came as both New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday they are ordering a mandatory, 21-day quarantine for all doctors and travelers who have had contact with Ebola victims in the ravaged countries of West Africa.

The move came one day after Spencer was diagnosed with the disease after returning to the U.S. a week after treating Ebola victims in Guinea.

The two governors said the case forced them to conclude that the two states need guidelines more rigorous than those of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends voluntary quarantines.

"It's too serious a situation to leave it to the honor system of compliance," Cuomo said.

A woman who arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport from West Africa developed a fever and was the first traveler to be quarantined under an Ebola watch Friday.

She had no symptoms upon arrival, authorities said. A preliminary test for Ebola came back negative. The woman, a healthcare worker, remained quarantined.

Spencer was traveling in New York City prior to his diagnosis Thursday. Health officials said he followed U.S. and international protocols in checking his temperature every day and watching for symptoms, and put no one at risk. But others said he should have been quarantined — that is, kept away from others, either voluntarily or by the government — during Ebola's 21-day incubation period.

An automatic three-week quarantine makes sense for anyone "with a clear exposure" to Ebola, said Dr. Richard Wenzel, a Virginia Commonwealth University scientist who formerly led the International Society for Infectious Diseases.

Doctors Without Borders said in a statement that a quarantine of that nature would be going too far and that people who contract Ebola are not contagious until symptoms begin.

"As long as a returned staff member does not experience any symptoms, normal life can proceed," the organization said in a statement.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/10/25/hospital-staffers-reportedly-take-sick-day-rather-than-treat-new-yorks-first/

I thought these people were highly trained and understood the risk that President Obama's border plan requires them to be subjected to. I guess many of them decided to self-quarantine themselves from work. I can sympathize with them though since their opinions and views were not even asked for by the administration, CDC, or NIH before volunteering them for hazardous duty. Considering the administrations constant trend of distorting facts, concealing facts, with-holding facts, and under-estimating problems and situations, I do not blame the workers one little bit for being wary of the information and current talking points they are receiving!

Edited October 25, 2014 by Robby999

[lostinblue 1,989]

slackers

[Darnell 8,478]

wait - surely the Doctors Without Borders group can

supply nursing staff for this fella, quickly.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

21 sick days sound like they would be in order...

[unsmiley 111]

These are medical professionals voting with their feet. I would take their opinion on the matter much more seriously than anyone in President Floppy Ears' administration, any day.

[lostinblue 1,989]

These are medical professionals voting with their feet. I would take their opinion on the matter much more seriously than anyone in President Floppy Ears' administration, any day.

You need to trust this new ebolacrat they put in charge of this problem. I am sure he cares so much about the population that never would anyone be in danger. His medical expertise is sure to put the nation at ease.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

You need to trust this new ebolacrat they put in charge of this problem. I am sure he cares so much about the population that never would anyone be in danger. His medical expertise is sure to put the nation at ease.

If you're being completely honest here nothing on earth would put you at ease. Even if God himself and a choir of angels came down and told you it would be OK you still wouldn't believe it.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

If you're being completely honest here nothing on earth would put you at ease. Even if God himself and a choir of angels came down and told you it would be OK you still wouldn't believe it.

I thought you don't believe in God?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I thought you don't believe in God?

You need some new material.

[ChristinaG 91]

of ffs.... these nurses who are faking illnesses are getting caught up in the ridiculous hysteria of the whole thing stop making this political! Ebola has been around for decades and it's not going away. And also, why are people still quoting 'FAUX news"?!

I have two siblings who are front line nurses. Even they are laughing at this ridiculous nonsense! Yes it is a horrible disease, yes there are many ways to prevent exposure and contracting this disease. Stop panicking!

[ChristinaG 91]

[GandD 5,966]

The word of the day is Ebolacrat.

[Teddy B 17,251]

The word of the day is Ebolacrat.

Buzzwords Rock!!

And it ain't gonna be pretty.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Alas, Fox caught the story from the Post. No credible source was able to confirm if this was even a story to begin with.

of ffs.... these nurses who are faking illnesses are getting caught up in the ridiculous hysteria of the whole thing stop making this political! Ebola has been around for decades and it's not going away. And also, why are people still quoting 'FAUX news"?!

I have two siblings who are front line nurses. Even they are laughing at this ridiculous nonsense! Yes it is a horrible disease, yes there are many ways to prevent exposure and contracting this disease. Stop panicking!