Texas Health Resources CEO: "We made mistakes"

Barclay Berdan, CEO of Arlington-based Texas Health Resources, apologized for gaffes in handling the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. in an open letter.

In the letter, Mr. Berdan said the system is "deeply sorry" for sending Thomas Eric Duncan home without a proper diagnosis after his first visit to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, stating, "I know that, as an institution, we made mistakes in handling this very difficult challenge."

Mr. Berdan also noted the hospital's Ebola training and education programs were not fully deployed before Mr. Duncan presented in the hospital's emergency room.

Though he acknowledged mistakes, Mr. Berdan also said some rumors in the media about how two hospital nurses contracted Ebola are false. "I can tell you that many of the theories and allegations being presented in the media do not align with facts stated in the medical record and the accounts of caregivers who were present on the scene," he wrote.

Mr. Berdan also addressed some changes the system has made to keep patients and employees safe, such as conducting specialized training on how to put on and take off personal protective equipment and changes in its EMR to better diagnose any future cases of Ebola.       

Read the full letter here. In addition to appearing on the health system's website, the letter also appeared as a full-page ad in The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, according to a WFAA report.

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