Friday, October 25, 2024

Ten Years Ago This Week, NYC Health + Hospitals | Bellevue Treated Dr. Craig Spencer For Ebola -- He Is Fully-Recovered And Teaches At Brown University, Now...


I have a pretty clear memory of this week, now a decade ago. We posted this, on lobbying, about all of it. We were in the teeth of an ebola outbreak that saw tens of thousands of deaths, in West Africa. So it is wonderful that Bellvue is celebrating at least one small victory, here. Kudos!

Here is the run-down on that story, overnight:

. . .NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue today hosted an emotional reunion with Dr. Craig Spencer and the medical team who cared for him when he was hospitalized with Ebola 10 years ago this month, remembering the tense time during Spencer’s 19-day hospitalization and discussing ongoing preparedness and response strategies as special pathogens continue to emerge around the world.

At the event, A Decade of Resilience: Honoring the Ten-Year Anniversary of Ebola Treatment in New York City, special pathogens experts from New York and Washington, DC discussed lessons learned and the evolution of special pathogens training and preparedness in the decade since the Ebola outbreak was a national and international emergency.

Dr. Spencer recovered and today he is an Associate Professor of Public Health and Emergency Medicine at Brown University and an advocate for equitable patient care. “A decade ago, at one of the most difficult moments of my life, I was lucky to land at Bellevue,” said Dr. Spencer. “A team of remarkably dedicated professionals took care of me, treated me like family, and helped carry me through 19 days in isolation. They put their own safety on the line every day to bring me food, laugh with me, and make me feel less alone. Only days prior, I had returned from the frontlines of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, where I had tried to do the same for the patients I had taken care of. I was grateful that all these providers at Bellevue were there for me. And almost every day since, I’ve wished similar resources existed for the people I took care of in West Africa. . . .”


Indeed. Be the change you wish to see -- in the world. Onward, and speaking of righting wrongs -- I'm out, later this morning -- to our early voting, at city hall, here. Look for the Bey-hive, in Houston, tonight! Grin!

नमस्ते

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