Nina Pham — the first American to contract Ebola on U.S. soil at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas after treating an Ebola patient there — sued Texas Health Resources over the incident this week.
Listed below are five things to know about the lawsuit and its potential implications.
1. According to the suit, Ms. Pham, 26, is suing to "hold Texas Health Resources accountable for what happened to her and to send a message to corporations like it that the safety of all patients and healthcare providers comes first. So when the viral outbreak occurs — and it will occur — these hospitals will be prepared and those healthcare providers will be protected."
In the suit, she makes several allegations, some of which are highlighted below:
- THR allegedly videotaped Ms. Pham while she was being treated at Presbyterian and released the video without her consent, saying Ms. Pham was "used as a PR pawn."
- Ms. Pham allegedly asked for her name to not be released, but the hospital did so anyway
- She and her colleagues were allegedly not properly prepared or trained for treating Ebola, and the nurses made up their own personal protective gear protocol in absence of instructions
2. The system released a simple statement on Ms. Pham's lawsuit on March 1, which reads, "Nina Pham bravely served Texas Health Resources during a most difficult time. We continue to support and wish the best for her, and we remain optimistic that constructive dialogue can resolve this matter." Since then, the system has responded to a few of Ms. Pham's allegations. According to ABC News, THR CEO Barclay Berdan sent an email to staff, saying the system had Ms. Pham's "consent to share" information about her to the public and that THR "adhered to HIPAA rules in determining what information to share publicly."
3. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, the third largest nurses union in the nation, has weighed in on the issue, with a spokesman telling The Springfield Republican "The hospital industry needs to be held accountable for the protection and safety of its workers, as the workers protect the safety of the patients."
4. Ms. Pham's suit raises bigger issues of Ebola preparedness — and basic patient safety standards — in the U.S. Fifty-five U.S. hospitals are now designated as Ebola treatment centers, meaning they are staffed, equipped and capable of providing complex care to an Ebola patient while minimizing risk to healthcare workers. Additionally, in November 2014, the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration adopted some of the nation's most stringent regulations to protect healthcare providers who treat Ebola patients, in which hospitals have to supply certain PPE and training to their workers.
However, these preparations only account for a small fraction of the total number of hospitals in the nation. The Massachusetts Nurses Association posted the following to its Facebook page: "While the hospital industry has indeed stepped up efforts to prepare for Ebola, the response continues to be uneven at best, and here in Massachusetts, few hospitals have answered the MNA's request to work collaboratively to institute practices that will protect nurses as they care for another outbreak."
This lawsuit could push more hospitals to become better prepared and offer training to staff in case they encounter a patient with Ebola or another highly contagious disease. The suit states that Ms. Pham "hopes this lawsuit is a new way to help others as an advocate for what is right."
5. Ms. Pham "doubts whether she can ever be a critical care nurse again," according to the suit, because of the "emotional stress and anxiety over the trauma she experienced" as well as the stigma she still faces after recovering from Ebola.