The head of the company that owns Dallas’ Presbyterian Hospital apologized for the misdiagnosis of the first person to have Ebola virus in the U.S.
“Although we had begun our Ebola preparedness activities, our training and education programs had not been fully deployed before the virus struck,” Chief Executive Officer Barclay Berdan wrote in an open letter published Sunday in the Dallas Morning News.
Thomas Eric Duncan originally went to the Dallas hospital on Sept. 24 with symptoms consistent with Ebola. He also told a nurse he had recently returned from Africa, but that information was not relayed to the doctors, and he was sent home after being told he had a viral infection.
He returned to the emergency room on Sept. 28 before being officially diagnosed a few days later. Duncan died from Ebola on Oct. 8.
“In short, despite our best intentions and skilled medical teams, we did not live up to the high standards that are the heart of our hospital’s history, mission and commitment,” Berdan wrote, referring to the misdiagnosis and other lapses in dealing with Duncan and his contraction of the disease.
Berdan also said they are bringing in outside help to determine how nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, who cared for Duncan, contracted Ebola.
“Theories and allegations” making their way throughout the media “do not align with facts,” Verdan also said.
Pham and Vinson are said to be in good condition.
