SIM missionary American doctor in Liberia tests positive for Ebola - treated at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb - virus free, released - Dr. Rick Sacra back in Liberia

[Treyfish]

SIM Missionary Doctor in Liberia Tests Positive for Ebola




September 2, 2014
Liberia, Africa, Ebola


CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? SIM USA (www.simusa.org) reported today that one of its missionary doctors in Liberia has tested positive for the Ebola virus.
The American doctor was treating obstetrics patients at SIM?s ELWA hospital in Monrovia. He was not treating Ebola patients in ELWA?s Ebola isolation unit, a facility separate from the main hospital on the mission organization?s 136-acre campus. It is not yet known how the doctor contracted the virus specifically.
The doctor immediately isolated himself... is doing well and is in good spirits.

Upon onset of the symptoms, the doctor immediately isolated himself and has since been transferred to the ELWA Ebola isolation unit. The doctor is doing well and is in good spirits.
?My heart was deeply saddened, but my faith was not shaken, when I learned another of our missionary doctors contracted Ebola,? said Bruce Johnson, president of SIM USA. ?As a global mission, we are surrounding our missionary with prayer, as well as our Liberian SIM/ELWA colleagues, who continue fighting the Ebola epidemic in Liberia. We have gifted Liberian doctors, medical staff and support staff who are carrying on the fight.?
SIM USA will hold a press conference at its Charlotte, N.C., headquarters on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 2:30 p.m. to provide additional and updated details.http://simusa.org/content/latest-new...tive_for_ebola

[Treyfish]

Re: SIM Missionary;Ameican Doctor in Liberia Tests Positive for Ebola

Home> Health
Another American Doctor Tests Positive for Ebola in West Africa

Sep 2, 2014, 1:20 PM ET
Another American doctor working for the missionary group SIM has tested positive for Ebola in Liberia.
The doctor was treating pregnant women ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, according to SIM. But he was not treating Ebola patients in the hospital?s separate Ebola isolation facility, the group said, adding that it was unclear how he contracted the virus.
?My heart was deeply saddened, but my faith was not shaken, when I learned another of our missionary doctors contracted Ebola,? SIM president Bruce Johnson said in a statement.
The doctor "immediately isolated himself" and has since been transferred to the ELWA Ebola ward where he is "doing well and is in good spirits," according to SIM. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/america...ry?id=25216376

[Gemineye]

Latest US doc to get Ebola skipped protective gear in 100-degree heat

By Paul Tilsley
Published September 03, 2014?
FoxNews.com


The latest U.S. doctor to contract Ebola in Africa was working with outpatients in 100-degree temperatures that made it difficult to wear protective gear when he was exposed to an obstetrics patient stricken with the deadly disease, said another American physician who worked in the same hospital.

The unidentified doctor was working in the obstetrics unit of the massive Elwa Hospital in the Liberian capital of Monrovia, far from the Ebola unit....

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/09/03/latest-us-doc-get-ebola-skipped-protective-gear-100-degree-heat-says-colleague/

[hawkeye]

Re: SIM Missionary;Ameican Doctor in Liberia Tests Positive for Ebola

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa ? The latest U.S. doctor to contract Ebola in Africa was working with outpatients in 100-degree temperatures that made it difficult to wear protective gear when he was exposed to an obstetrics patient stricken with the deadly disease, said another American physician who worked in the same hospital.

The unidentified doctor was working in the obstetrics unit of the massive Elwa Hospital in the Liberian capital of Monrovia, far from the Ebola unit, said Dr. Jeff Deal, a South Carolina doctor who traveled to Liberia to help battle the crisis engulfing much of Africa. Doctors and other health care workers often do not wear protective gear in the general part of the hospital, most of which has no air conditioning.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/09/03/latest-us-doc-get-ebola-skipped-protective-gear-100-degree-heat-says-colleague/

[Pathfinder]

Re: SIM Missionary;Ameican Doctor in Liberia Tests Positive for Ebola

Missionary Profile: Dr. Rick Sacra

<!-- END BODY -->September 3, 2014


Dr. Rick Sacra has served as a medical missionary in Liberia, West Africa, since 1995. His many contributions include caring for patients; training nurses, medical students and interns; leadership development; and helping to increase the hospital’s response to HIV and AIDS, including starting a counseling program for patients living with the virus. He is also helping to develop a Christian Family Practice Residency training program for Liberian doctors.

Dr. Sacra was the Acting Medical Director at ELWA Hospital from August 2008 to March 2010. He also served as the SIM Liberia Director for several years. Rick currently divides his time between Massachusetts and Liberia.

SIM sent Rick Sacra into Liberia early in August to provide assistance during the relocation of missionaries who needed a break in the Ebola fight. Alongside our many Liberian colleagues, Dr. Sacra provided continuity to the ministry at ELWA and helped to build SIM’s response to the Ebola crisis.

Dr. Sacra worked at ELWA Hospital and was not involved in the care of Ebola patients. The Ebola isolation unit is a separate facility from the hospital. Dr. Sacra has saved the lives of several women and infants in the past three weeks who would have otherwise died from complications of pregnancy and labor.

Rick received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester in 1989. He underwent a three-year Family Medicine residency program in Bristol, Tennessee. Rick and Debbie moved to Liberia in 1995 where Rick served as a physician and Debbie as a teacher. After only one year of service, the civil conflict forced them to flee. In 1997 the Sacras returned to West Africa, but initially to Cote d’Ivoire to serve among Liberian refugees. In 1998, they were able to re-enter Liberia, now with three boys.

Rick received the Teacher of the Year award from the Family Health Center of Worcester in June 2011 for his work mentoring Family Practice residents.

Rick was born October 16, 1962 in Massachusetts. Rick and his wife, Debbie, met in college at Brown University and were married in 1985. Their blog is here: http://iscripts.blogspot.com.
Written by: Tabitha Plueddemann

http://simusa.org/content/latest-news/4577/missionary_profile_dr_rick_sacra

[Pathfinder]

Re: SIM Missionary;Ameican Doctor in Liberia Tests Positive for Ebola

Mass. Missionary Doctor Contracts Ebola

By Chelsea Rice
Boston.com Staff
September 3, 2014 5:20 PM
...
Dr. Sacra is a family physician in Worcester and an assistant professor of family medicine and community health at University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he graduated in 1989.

At the news of the outbreak, Dr. Sacra volunteered about a month ago to go with SIM to Liberia. He was working in the obstetrics unit when, SIM officials believe, he contracted the virus.

?Rick is the consummate family physician, incredibly bright, skilled with his hands, and also just a wonderful human being,? said Dr. Warren Ferguson, a colleague and friend of Dr. Sacra?s at UMass Medical School, in a media briefing on Tuesday afternoon. Dr. Warren hired Dr. Sacra right out of the UMass residency program in 1992. ?He?s passionate not only about his missionary work, but also extremely devoted to combining his faith with medicine.?
...
SIM President Bruce Johnson said in the press conference Tuesday morning that Dr. Sacra?s symptoms began on Friday evening when he developed a fever. On Monday, September 1, staff ran the Ebola test. When that test came back positive later that day, Dr. Sacra moved himself to the Ebola unit.
...
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were no updates on whether Dr. Sacra will be transferred to be treated in Massachusetts.

?As across the country, Boston area hospitals are well prepared to treat suspect or confirmed cases of Ebola,? said McKenzie Ridings, speaking on behalf of the Boston Public Health Commission on whether Dr. Sacra will be transferred for care in Boston. ?Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Rick Sacra and his family, and we wish him a full recovery. At this time we are not aware of plans to transfer patients to Boston.?

http://www.boston.com/health/2014/09/03/american-missionary-doctor-with-ebola-from-boston/P8P7zA0Z80zZit166HDTzH/story.html

[Pathfinder]

Re: SIM Missionary American Doctor in Liberia Tests Positive for Ebola

Latest American Ebola Patient Headed to Nebraska Hospital for Treatment

Sep 4, 2014, 5:28 PM ET

By SYDNEY LUPKIN

The latest American doctor to be infected with Ebola in West Africa is on his way to the United States for treatment at Nebraska Medical Center.

Dr. Rick Sacra, 51, was treating pregnant women in the ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, when he became infected with the deadly virus, according to SIM, an international, interdenominational Christian organization based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

?I just had a call from the doctor who put Rick on a plane to come to the United States,? his wife, Debbie Sacra, said at a news conference, her voice breaking. ?He said that Rick is clearly sick, but that he was in very good spirits.

?He walked onto the plane, so we are really encouraged by that news and looking forward to reuniting with him,? she added.
...

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/latest-american-ebola-patient-headed-nebraska-hospital-treatment/story?id=25252017

[Pathfinder]

Re: SIM Missionary American Doctor in Liberia Tests Positive for Ebola

SIM Missionary Doctor Rick Sacra on Way to The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha

<!-- BEGIN BODY -->September 4, 2014

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? International Christian mission organization SIM announced today that missionary doctor Rick Sacra, recently infected with the Ebola virus while serving in Liberia, is being flown to The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb., for treatment.

Dr. Sacra is expected to arrive in Omaha Friday morning and begin treatment in the hospital?s Biocontainment Patient Care Unit.

?Rick was receiving excellent care from our SIM/ELWA staff in Liberia at our Ebola 2 Care Center,? said Bruce Johnson, president SIM USA. ?They all love and admire him deeply. However, The Nebraska Medical Center provides advanced monitoring equipment and wider availability of treatment options.

?SIM?s global family from over 50 countries is extremely grateful for the generous cooperation of many agencies and organizations in the U.S. and in Liberia which made it possible for Rick to be brought to Omaha. It took an exceptional effort across many organizations to make this happen. We particularly thank the U.S. Department of State and its many agencies and The Nebraska Medical Center.?

The Nebraska Medical Center will hold a press conference at 4:15 p.m. CDT at Truhlsen Eye Institute, 3902 Leavenworth St., Omaha, NE.
Debbie Sacra, wife of Dr. Sacra, will be speaking to the media at 5 p.m. EDT at Albert Sherman Center, 3rd Floor Cube, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, Mass., (www.umassmed.edu).

...

http://simusa.org/content/latest-news/4596/sim_missionary_doctor_rick_sacra_on_way_to_the_nebraska_medical_center_in_omaha

[Pathfinder]

Re: SIM missionary American doctor in Liberia tests positive for Ebola - being flown to The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb

Patient With Ebola Virus Being Brought To The Nebraska Medical Center

The U.S. State Department has asked for assistance from The Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebraska Medical Center in caring for an American doctor who was working in West Africa when he tested positive for the Ebola virus. Officials expect this patient to arrive in Omaha Friday morning and to begin treatment in the Biocontainment Patient Care Unit, located inside The Nebraska Medical Center.

"This unit was specifically designed to care for patients of this nature and is staffed with infectious disease experts who have prepared for years for situations like this one," said Phil Smith, MD, medical director of the Biocontainment Unit. "The unit is sealed, guarded and secure. It's separate from other patient care areas, and just like the facility at Emory University, which successfully treated two Americans with Ebola last month, we are uniquely prepared to handle infectious diseases here."

Along with the Med Center's 10-bed Biocontainment Unit, there are only three other similar facilities in the United States. The list includes the unit at Emory University in Atlanta that is operated by the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana.

"We want everyone to know that every precaution is being taken in transporting this patient here and caring for them once they arrive," said Angela Hewlett, MD, associate medical director of the Biocontainment Unit. "This is one of the safest places in the country for this patient to be treated, both for the public and for the medical professionals providing care."

"There are strict guidelines in place to ensure staff members who work in the unit are protected," said Dr. Smith, a professor of infectious diseases at UNMC. "Staff members have drilled on a routine basis to prepare for something like this since the unit opened in 2005. The unit is equipped with a special air-handling system to ensure that microorganisms don't spread beyond the patient rooms, with high-level filtration for additional protection. A dunk tank for lab specimens and a pass-through autoclave help assure that hazardous materials are decontaminated before leaving the unit."

"We understand that some people might have questions about why this patient is coming here instead of Emory, where the first two patients were treated," added Dr. Hewlett, a UNMC assistant professor of infectious diseases. "We are doing this at the request of the U.S. State Department. The fact is, handling the Ebola outbreak is a marathon, not a sprint. We didn't request that a patient be brought here, but having the unique ability to care for this patient will only serve to build up our national resiliency in treating other similar patients in the future."

The unit has been activated once since it opened, for a potential case of Ebola that turned out to be malaria. However, it is frequently used for training and as additional space for patients during times when the hospital is near capacity.

http://www.nebraskamed.com/article/228/patient-with-ebola-virus-being-brought-to-the-nebraska-medical-center

[MHSC]

Re: SIM missionary American doctor in Liberia tests positive for Ebola - being flown to The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb

"We are doing this at the request of the U.S. State Department. The fact is, handling the Ebola outbreak is a marathon, not a sprint. We didn't request that a patient be brought here, but having the unique ability to care for this patient will only serve to build up our national resiliency in treating other similar patients in the future."

So each region is being asked to practice.

[Pathfinder]

Re: SIM missionary American doctor in Liberia tests positive for Ebola - being flown to The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb

3rd American aid worker infected with Ebola arrives at Nebraska hospital

Published September 05, 2014?
Associated Press
...
Local media reported shortly after 6 a.m. that a plane carrying Sacra landed at Offutt Air Force Base, south of the Omaha suburb of Bellevue. He arrived at the hospital in an ambulance about 40 minutes later, but media were unable to see Sacra as he was hustled into the facility.

Dr. Phil Smith, medical director of the Omaha unit, said a team of 35 doctors, nurses and other medical staffers will provide Sacra with basic care, including ensuring he is hydrated and keeping his vital signs stable.

The team is discussing experimental treatments, including using blood serum from a patient who has recovered from Ebola, Smith said.

"We've been trying to collect as much information on possible treatments as we can," Smith said.

There are no licensed drugs or vaccines for the disease, but about half a dozen are in development. None has been tested on humans, but an early trial of one vaccine began this week in the United States.

Much attention has focused on the unproven drug ZMapp, which was given to seven patients, two of whom died. But the limited supply is now exhausted and its developer says it will take months to make even a modest amount.
...

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/09/05/3rd-american-aid-worker-infected-with-ebola-arrives-at-nebraska-hospital/?intcmp=latestnews

[Lizw]

Re: SIM missionary American doctor in Liberia tests positive for Ebola - being flown to The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb

So each region is being asked to practice.

That's what I was thinking too, and I think it is a darn good idea.

[erruve]

Re: SIM missionary American doctor in Liberia tests positive for Ebola - being flown to The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb

That's what I was thinking too, and I think it is a darn good idea.

Exactly!

[sharon sanders]

Re: SIM missionary American doctor in Liberia tests positive for Ebola - treated at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb

Welcome erruve!

[Pathfinder]

Re: SIM missionary American doctor in Liberia tests positive for Ebola - treated at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb

Open letter to patients, families and visitors from medical center leadership

As you may have heard, an American doctor serving on a medical mission in Liberia tested positive for the Ebola virus and was recently transported back to the United States for treatment. At the request of the U.S. State Department, we are currently treating this patient here at The Nebraska Medical Center?s Biocontainment Patient Care Unit.

We want to personally assure you that this patient?s presence here poses no risk to you or your loved ones. The biocontainment unit here is a highly secure group of special hospital rooms which is locked and sealed. It is staffed by experts who?ve been highly trained to care for patients exposed to infectious diseases.

The unique capabilities of our experts here and our biocontainment unit make our center the best place to safely treat this patient and keep the disease from spreading. We are taking these measures with an abundance of caution, caring for this patient in an area which exceeds all safety requirements.


Here are some important facts about Ebola:

• It cannot be spread through the air
• It is only contagious to those who come in direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person
• Infection control procedures in modern American medical centers can safely prevent its spread
• The biocontainment unit is in a separate part of the hospital ? it has its own staff, supplies and air handling system

We have spent our entire careers in patient care and want you to know we have all the confidence in the world in our staff and their ability to deal with this safely. If you have any lingering questions or concerns, please share them with your doctor, nurse or any care provider. Everyone here at the medical center is fully committed to providing you the extraordinary care you deserve and will continue to do so.

Sincerely,
Harris Frankel, MD
Chief Medical Officer

Rosanna Morris, RN
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Nursing Officer

http://www.nebraskamed.com/article/229/open-letter-to-patients