Dallas hospital exec on Ebola crisis: 'We are deeply sorry'
Doctor will tell Congress that mistakes were made, lessons learned
DALLAS — A top official at the Texas hospital where Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan died and two nurses contracted the deadly virus is apologizing to Congress for his facility’s “mistakes” in handling the highly contagious disease.
A transcript of testimony by Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer of the hospital’s parent chain Texas Health Resources, is expected to be presented at noon Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
“Unfortunately, in our initial treatment of Mr. Duncan, despite our best intentions and a highly skilled medical team, we made mistakes,” Varga’s testimony reads. “We did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of Ebola. We are deeply sorry.”
Because he cannot attend the hearing, Varga’s remarks were posted on a federal government website on Wednesday.
Texas Health is a faith-based, nonprofit organization consisting of 25 acute-care and short-stay hospitals. Varga, who was paid $500,000 in 2012, according to the group’s tax returns, is responsible for patient safety among other things.
The public apology is the first of its kind since late September, when Duncan, a Liberian citizen, went to Texas Health Presbyterian’s emergency room with Ebola-like symptoms and was sent home with antibiotics, even after telling workers he had recently arrived in Dallas from West Africa.
Duncan’s condition worsened in the two days after leaving the ER. He was suffering severe diarrhea and heavy vomiting when an ambulance arrived to take him back to the hospital on Sept. 28.
Varga said the hospital followed all federal and state guidelines to protect staff and others from Duncan, who died Oct. 8 after 10 days in isolation.
In his remarks, Varga expresses regret that two of his nurses — Nina Pham, 26, and Amber Vinson, 29 — somehow contracted the virus from Duncan.
“It’s clear there was an exposure somewhere, sometime,” the testimony reads. “We are poring over records and observations, and doing all we can to find the answers.”
He said Pham “is known as an extremely skilled nurse, and she was using full protective measures under the CDC protocols, so we don’t yet know precisely how or when she was infected.”
Others expected to testify include Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. On Wednesday, Fauci said of the hospital: “What happened there, regardless of the reason, is not acceptable.”
Varga also admits the hospital shared some information that was “inaccurate and had to be corrected,” but he does not specify what he is addressing.
“In our effort to communicate to the public quickly and transparently, we inadvertently provided some information that was inaccurate and had to be corrected,” his testimony reads. “No doubt that was unsettling to a community that was already concerned and confused, and we have learned from that experience as well.”
Varga goes on to say that Texas Health Presbyterian has already instituted a number of fixes, including an Ebola “refresher course” for emergency department staffers.
“We will continue to make changes as new learnings emerge,” the testimony reads.
Jason Sickles is a reporter for Yahoo. Follow him on Twitter (@jasonsickles).
