© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Texas Hospital: 'We Are Deeply Sorry' For Missing Ebola Diagnosis

The exterior of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
Chip Somodevilla
/
Getty Images
The exterior of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

In a full-page letter published in Sunday's Dallas Morning News, Barclay Berdan, the CEO of the company that owns Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, said the hospital was "deeply sorry" for missing the ebola diagnosis of Thomas Eric Duncan.

If you remember, Duncan initally went to the hospital on Sept. 26 with a fever and other symptoms consistent with Ebola. He told a nurse he had traveled to Africa, but the doctor somehow missed that vital piece of information. Duncan was sent home with antibiotics but returned two days later.

"Although we had begun our Ebola preparedness activities, our training and education programs had not been fully deployed before the virus struck," Berdan wrote in the letter. "In short, despite our best intentions and skilled medical teams, we did not live up to the high standards that are the heart of our hospital's history, mission and commitment."

Berdan also addresses the fact that while his staff cared for Duncan, two nurses became infected with Ebola.

Berdan says the "theories and allegations" floating in the media "do not align with facts."

Nina Pham and Amber Vinson became infected, Berdan wrote, "despite their compliance with the protective equipment and safety procedures." According to Berdan: "We believe our procedures complied with the CDC Ebola guidelines and our staff implemented them diligently."

Berdan, however, wrote that they are still investigating what happened. The CDC had originally blamed a "breach" in protocol to explain the infection of a second nurse.

We'll leave you with the full letter:

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.