General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I am sick of reading the Ebola blame casting here on Texas [View all]amandabeech
(9,893 posts)This was the first Ebola case, and really, despite the terrible news coming out of West Africa, it is likely that like many people, the people at THP were focused primarily on what types of cases are typical in their ER/D. That's not a Texas condition, but a human condition. Ebola just seemed a world away.
There are superior teaching hospitals in nearly every state where something like this might not have been missed. I suspect that some of the universities in Texas have such institutions. I actually lived in East Texas for a year in the '80s for work, and I seem to recall that U-T and Baylor had fine institutions that might have caught this first case. Maybe.
What is certain is that the level of awareness has increased, and I hope that people are seriously thinking about preparedness and starting to make realistic plans.
From here on out, anyone who has traveled to any part of Africa will receive extra special attention at any ER, urgent care clinic or doctor's office. Unfortunately, it took a fumble by the first hospital to get a walk in Ebola case to do that. And it cold have happened in many, many places.