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Nina Pham

Nina Pham22 posts

Nina Pham is a nurse, born in Fort Worth in 1988, who contracted Ebola while caring for Thomas Eric Duncan. She is the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S. She recovered and was released from hospital on October 24, 2014.

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2 Mar, 2015

Plans to sue

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Pham plans to file suit against Texas Health Resources for ‘corporate neglect, alleging that Texas Health Resources failed to develop policies and provide proper training for staff dealing with Ebola patients.

I wanted to believe that they would have my back and take care of me, but they just haven’t risen to the occasion….I was the last person besides Mr. Duncan to find out he was positive. You’d think the primary nurse would be the first to know. … I broke down and cried, not because I thought I had it but just because it was a big ‘whoa, this is really happening’ moment.

Texas Health Resources spokesman Wendell Watson:

Nina Pham bravely served Texas Health Dallas during a most difficult time. We continue to support and wish the best for her, and we remain optimistic that constructive dialogue can resolve this matter.

‘Fortunate and blessed’

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Pham makes a statement after her release, thanking her doctors, family and friends. Pham also asks for privacy so she can could get back to normal life and reunite with Bentley.

I feel fortunate and blessed to be standing here today. I would first and foremost like to thank God, my family, and friends.

Ebola free

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The National Institutes of Health says in a statement that Nina Pham is being released Friday from its hospital near Washington. Pham will make a brief statement during a news conference late this morning.

22 Oct, 2014

Bentley doesn’t have Ebola

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Nina Pham - BentleyPham’s dog, Bentley, diagnosed with Ebola tested negative for the deadly virus, according to results released Wednesday. Dallas city officials:

The test results show that Bentley has tested negative for the virus. Specimen collection will be conducted again before the end of the 21-day quarantine period. Bentley will be monitored for a full 21-day period, similar to people exposed to the Ebola virus.

Cate McManus,Dallas Animal Services operation manager:

We are hopeful that Bentley’s journey will contribute to what we know about Ebola and dogs since they play such an important role in so many peoples lives.

Pham’s condition has been upgraded from fair to good condition.

18 Oct, 2014

Monitoring of patients inconsistent

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Officials say monitoring of the virus’s potential spread has been inconsistent. In one example, Dallas County chief executive Judge Jenkins told Texas Health Presbyterian to change its system so that workers who had treated Duncan were to stop seeing any patients other than Pham. The next day, the CDC allowed Vinson to fly on a commercial airliner. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, a doctor who did his residency in Dallas:

I don’t think the directions provided to people at first were as clear as they needed to be, and there have been changes in the instructions given to people over time.

16 Oct, 2014

Arrives in Maryland

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Pham arrives at National Institutes of Health center in Bethesda, Maryland for treatment in a specialized isolation unit, with staff that specialize in infectious disease and critical care. The NIH facility has one of four isolation units in the nation. NIH says staff specializing in infectious disease and critical care will treat the 26-year-old nurse. Pham left the Dallas hospital in an ambulance about 6 p.m. as dozens of nurses cheered and waved signs bearing messages of affection and good wishes. She was taken to Dallas Love Field, where she boarded the same executive jet used to fly a co-worker to an Atlanta hospital on Wednesday. The jet took off shortly after 7 p.m. Hospital spokesman Wendell Watson said Pham’s transfer is necessary because numerous employees are being monitored for symptoms and aren’t available to work.

Pham video released

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Pham appears in a YouTube video taken before she was transferred to the National Institutes of Health clinical center in Bethesda, Md. The video was made by the physician who was treating her, Dr. Gary Weinstein and released with Pham’s permission.

I love you guys.

15 Oct, 2014

$30,000 raised

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More than $30,000 is pledged online for Pham.The campaign is launched by Sarah Strittmatter, one of Pham’s childhood friends, a day after Pham was identified as the first person infected with Ebola in the United States. Pham’s treatment is being covered by the hospital. But other expenses, such as replacement costs for clothing and furniture, will not be.Strittmatter:

To those who know her she is a light for others, always shining, never faltering. She is genuine, selfless, and a true friend. She loves adventures, traveling, helping others, and a good challenge. She sees beauty in so many things, and believes in and supports others with a ferocity that is unforgettable. Her life has been an inspiration to those around her. So many have been touched by her life, her genuineness, her indomitable spirit, and her love.

Everything Nina owns has been destroyed in [an] effort to avoid any contamination. Also, her family is not working during this crisis, and needs support during this tough time. There are a myriad of expenses associated with a crisis like this ― many of them not covered under any compensation plan. Student loans, car payments, rent, vet bills, family travel and hotel fees, meals, etc.

14 Oct, 2014

CDC monitoring 125 people

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The CDC is monitoring 11 people who had contact with Duncan and 114 people who may have had contact. None of the people are showing signs of Ebola. It says that 48 have been monitored since before Duncan was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian, 75 are people who worked in the hospital, and one is someone who had contact with Pham.

Second person monitored

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The person, reported to be Pham’s boyfriend, is reported to be in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian. An internal company email indicates that he works at global eye care products company Alcon in Forth Worth, Tx.

70 staffers cared for Duncan

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Medical records show that around 70 Texas Health Presbyterian staffers cared for Duncan, and some of them may have had direct contact with his body or fluids. The CDC says there were breaches in protection protocol at the hospital, and is investigating to identify them. WHO doctor Aileen Marty says no amount of protection will help if hospital workers do not put on and take off their protective layers carefully:

The first thing in caring for someone with Ebola is to do everything in your power to never become a victim

Bentley ‘safe’

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Bentley, Pham’s year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, is quarantined and doing well, animal officials say.

We’re not going to put him in a cage for 21 days and say, ‘Good luck. We’re going to do our best so that the dog is in the best mental state when he is returned to his owner.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told WFAA-TV that Bentley would not be euthanized like Excalibur, the dog belonging to a Spanish nurse with Ebola.

Pham statement

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In a statement released by Texas Health Presbyterian, Pham says she is “doing well.”

I’m doing well and want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers. I am blessed by the support of family and friends and am blessed to be cared for by the best team of doctors and nurses in the world.

Pham is listed as “clinically stable,” according to the director of the CDC Dr. Tom Frieden.

13 Oct, 2014

Donates blood to Pham

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Brantly donates plasma to Pham, the third patient who has been given his blood in the hope that antibodies he developed in his recovery from the virus can cure others. Brantly is believed to have traveled to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital to make the donation on Sunday night.

U.S. nurse identified

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ebola-nina-phamThe Dallas nurse diagnosed with the virus is identified as 26-year-old Nina Pham. Her family confirm the identification. Pham graduated from Texas Christian University’s nursing program in 2010.

12 Oct, 2014

Questions over how nurse was infected

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Health experts are rushing to determine how Pham contracted the virus. They propose several scenarios, including that she was infected while Duncan was being intubated or receiving kidney dialysis, both procedures with a high risk of contact with infected materials. Templeton University doctor Eileen Farnon, who formerly worked at the CDC and led teams investigating past Ebola outbreaks in Africa:

Removing the equipment can really be the highest risk. You have to be extremely careful and have somebody watching you to make sure you remember all the steps.

Dr. Dennis Maki, University of Wisconsin-Madison infectious disease specialist:

I can have on the suit and be very careful, but I can pick up some secretions or body fluids on a surface

CDC investigating source of infection

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CDC director Frieden says the centre is considering several possibilities as to how the Dallas nurse became infected with the virus. One possibility is that the infection spread when protective equipment was removed or when Duncan received kidney dialysis or respiratory intubatution in last-ditch efforts to save his life:

Both of those procedures may spread contaminated materials and are considered high-risk procedures… When you have potentially soiled or contaminated gloves or masks or other things, to remove those without any risk of any contaminated material … touching you and being then on your clothes or face or skin … is not easy to do right.

Another possibility is out-of-protocol precautions taken by healthcare workers worried about safety, but which can actually increase risks, such as wearing three pairs of surgical gloves instead of two.