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Monday, October 27, 2014

60_MINUTES (CBS News magazine, Oct. 26, 2014) -- highly rated episode on Dallas, TX Hospital coping with Ebola Patient Duncan

http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/10/nurses-union-takes-issue-with-minutes-ebola-segment-197694.html?hp=l5
Two nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian were infected with Ebola during Duncan's treatment (one was declared Ebola-free on Saturday, the other is being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta). In the 60 Minutes segment, one nurse attributed the contagion to the fact that the hospital and the CDC were "on a learning curve" in dealing with the disease: "It's unfortunate that colleagues had to get sick, but it was a learning curve."
As Idelson sees it, Texas Health Presbyterian could have been better prepared.
"The hospital was not adhering to proper safety protocols, which means having the optimal level of personal safety equipment and optimal training programs for the people who are most likely to be infected, which is the people treating the paitent," he said. "Somehow, this hospital managed to have two people who were infected. There has to be some accountability by these hospitals."
The Ebola segment was, however, a major boon to CBS' ratings. Sunday's edition of 60 Minutes drew a whopping 13.46 million viewers in the 8 p.m. hour, more than the total audience for the usually dominant NBC "Sunday Night Football."

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