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   From: 5-dolla-joe@lottery.com   
      
   (CNN)She was the first person to contract Ebola in the United   
   States, and now she's suing the hospital where she got infected.   
      
   Nina Pham, a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas,   
   filed a lawsuit Monday against the hospital's parent company,   
   Texas Health Resources. She claims the company made her "a   
   symbol of corporate neglect -- a casualty of a hospital system's   
   failure to prepare for a known and impending medical crisis."   
      
   THR ignored Ebola warnings, its chief medical officer "made   
   numerous patently false statements to Congress," and the company   
   "wholly failed to ensure that appropriate polices, procedures,   
   and equipment were in place," leaving health care providers   
   untrained, unprotected and at risk for exposure, the lawsuit   
   says.   
      
   "I was hoping that THR would be more open and honest about   
   everything that happened at the hospital, and the things they   
   didn't do that led to me getting infected with Ebola," Pham said   
   in a statement. "But that didn't happen and I felt I was left   
   with no choice but to turn to the courts for help."   
      
   The company's CEO, Barclay Berdan, sent a letter to employees   
   Monday night after news of the lawsuit broke.   
      
   "Nina and so many others of you served very bravely during a   
   most difficult time as we all struggled to deal with the first   
   case of Ebola to arrive in a U.S. hospital's emergency room,"   
   the statement read.   
      
   "Texas Health Resources values our strong culture of caring and   
   compassion, and we view all employees as part of our family.   
   That's why we have continued to support Nina both during and   
   after her illness, and it's why she is still a member of our   
   team."   
      
   'In a cruel twist...'   
   According to the suit, the hospital chain failed to provide   
   proper training to handle Ebola. Pham contracted the disease   
   last fall while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, who started showing   
   symptoms after arriving in Dallas from Liberia.   
      
   "In a cruel twist, after watching Mr. Duncan go through the   
   horrific and painful course of the disease as she desperately   
   tried to save his life, Nina herself was diagnosed with Ebola   
   just two days after Mr. Duncan's life was taken by it," the   
   lawsuit states.   
      
   Because the hospital initially discharged Duncan when he arrived   
   seeking treatment, it hurt his chances of beating the virus, the   
   lawsuit says.   
      
   "Had THR heeded the CDC and other warnings and ensured its   
   hospitals were ready for Ebola, Mr. Duncan would have had the   
   best opportunity to possibly survive," it says.   
      
   Pham also claims that the hospital failed to provide her with   
   the necessary protective equipment, despite CDC warnings.   
      
   "Based on what she could learn from the Internet, on the first   
   day she cared for Mr. Duncan, Nina put on a regular isolation   
   gown covering her front and back, double gloves, a surgical mask   
   with plastic shield and double booties. Importantly, Nina's neck   
   and hair remained exposed. Nina was not even (provided)   
   disposable scrubs or a change of clothes. She had to wear the   
   scrubs she wore that first day home, taking out of the hospital   
   clothing that was potentially carrying the virus," the lawsuit   
   says.   
      
   When her mother learned she was treating Duncan, she tried to   
   persuade her to call in sick or even quit, but Pham replied,   
   "Mom, I can't abandon him. He is my patient. It's my job. I'm   
   going back," according to the lawsuit.   
      
   Texas Health Resources spokesman Wendell Watson issued a   
   statement in response to the lawsuit:   
      
   "Nina Pham served very bravely during a most difficult time as   
   we all struggled to deal with the first case of Ebola to arrive   
   in a U.S. hospital's emergency room. Texas Health Resources has   
   a strong culture of caring and compassion, and we view all our   
   employees as part of our family. That's why we have continued to   
   support Nina both during and after her illness, and it's why she   
   is still a member of our team. As distressing as the lawsuit is   
   to us, we remain optimistic that we can resolve this matter with   
   Nina."   
      
   'No risk'   
   Comparing the conditions facing nurses to what one would expect   
   in a poorly developed country, the suit further states that   
   after Duncan died, Pham was told she was at "no risk" for Ebola   
   "and that she could freely see her friends and family."   
      
   Two days later, she found out she had Ebola.   
      
   Whoopsy.   
      
   http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/02/us/nina-pham-hospital-lawsuit/   
       
      
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