Gov. Brown to meet with nursing groups to discuss Ebola preparations

Leaders of two nursing organizations say they plan to meet Tuesday with Gov. Jerry Brown to call on the state to upgrade Ebola training and safety precautions for California health professionals.

The California Nurses Assn. and National Nurses United are asking state regulators to formally adopt what they called “optimal safety standards,” including requirements for Hazmat suits and accelerated hands-on training programs.

“California hospitals have been appallingly slow in moving to enact any effective protocols, much less the highest standards, in response to this virulent Ebola threat that has already infected two nurses in Dallas,” NNU and CNA Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro said in a statement.

The two nurses were infected with the Ebola virus when they cared for Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Duncan, who was infected in Liberia, died of the disease Oct. 8.

The nurses, Amber Vinson and Nina Pham, have been transferred to hospitals in Atlanta and Maryland that are better prepared to handle Ebola cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are preparing new Ebola guidelines for healthcare workers. And President Obama on Saturday urged Americans to remain calm.

In his radio address, Obama said he has hugged doctors and nurses who have treated Ebola patients. “Ebola is actually a difficult disease to catch,” he said. “I’ve met with an Ebola patient who recovered, right in the Oval Office. And I’m fine.”