Ebola Crisis Update

Ebola moves into crisis mode with revelations from nurses about hospital procedures

With the Ebola virus moving into crisis mode, a nurses' union has cataloged a list of failures at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, and President Barack Obama has convened a meeting of his team to coordinate the government's response to the Ebola outbreak.

A second Texas Health Presbyterian nurse, Amber Joy Vinson, tested positive for Ebola on Tuesday, the day after she flew back to Dallas from Cleveland, where she had traveled for the weekend. There were 132 passengers on her October 13 return flight, Frontier Airlines flight 1143, from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Meanwhile, National Nurses United, the nation's largest nurses' union, held a press conference on October 14 to announce a series of protocol failures during the care of the first patient, Thomas Eric Duncan.

The union organized a group phone call in which healthcare workers shared the procedures in an anonymous manner, so that they would not be subject to discipline by their employers.

According to union spokeswoman RoseAnn DeMoro, Duncan was left for hours in the emergency room with up to seven other patients before being put in isolation. Supervisors walked in and out of his room without protective gear. Some of the protective gear left caregivers' heads, necks and lower legs exposed.

DeMoro also said that Duncan's lab specimens were transported through the hospital's pneumatic tube system instead of being handled separately, which potentially contaminated the entire system. Some nurses who treated Duncan were allowed to do other patient care duties even though Duncan produced "copious amounts of diarrhea and vomiting."

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas issued a statement on Wednesday, saying that it is considering moving Vinson to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Although Vinson was not experiencing symptoms at the time of her flight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking all passengers to call 1-800-CDC-INFO. Among the passengers were three students from Belton.

"After 1 pm EST, public health professionals will begin interviewing passengers about the flight, answering their questions and arranging follow-up," the agency said in a statement. "Individuals who are determined to be at any potential risk will be actively monitored."

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

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Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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