Ebola survivor Nina Pham alleges Texas hospital lied, used her

DALLAS — For three days last October, the Texas hospital where critical care nurse Nina Pham contracted Ebola and was being treated for the deadly disease refused to make her name or condition public.

Then, on Oct. 14, came a surprising but welcome update.

“Nina Pham is in good condition,” Texas Health Presbyterian announced in a widely distributed news release.

Pham now says the statement not only violated her privacy but also was a lie.

“Nina’s medical records tell another story,” Pham’s lawyers state in a civil lawsuit filed against the hospital Monday.

According to the lawsuit, a progress note from Pham’s pulmonologist on that day showed the 26-year-old’s condition to be life-threatening. The doctor also wrote that he reviewed “end of life” resuscitation wishes with Pham but ultimately “discussed plan of care with family as patient unable to make their own clinical decisions.”

Pham’s lawyers allege that the hospital, besieged by negative publicity during the Ebola scare in Dallas, “began trying to use Nina as a PR tool to save its plummeting image.”

The lawsuit states, “Desperately, THR issued a press release that announced Nina’s condition had been upgraded from stable to good in hopes that the public would think THR was doing something right.”

But two days later, Pham was flown to a specialized treatment center at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. She left with a flurry of fanfare.

Texas Health’s public relations staff published a YouTube video of Pham tearfully thanking colleagues from her hospital bed. There were “Nina is our hero!” tweets and admiration for her beloved dog, Bentley. A company press release quoted Pham as saying, “I am #presbyproud!”

Today, the emotional bedside video of Pham can no longer be viewed on YouTube. Links to some press releases about Pham on the hospital’s website are also no longer accessible. The hospital declined to answer specific questions from Yahoo News but did email a statement.

“Nina Pham and many others served very bravely during a most difficult time as we all struggled to deal with the first case of Ebola to arrive in a U.S. hospital’s emergency room,” wrote Wendell Watson, director of public relations. “Texas Health Resources values our strong culture of caring and compassion, and we view all employees as part of our family. That’s why we have continued to support Nina both during and after her illness, and it’s why she is still a member of our team. As distressing as the lawsuit is to us, we remain optimistic that we can resolve this matter with Nina.”

In his Oct. 14 progress note, the pulmonologist also wrote that he and Pham reviewed in detail a hospital consent form concerning her information and said that “she agrees to increased information release.” Pham had previously forbid the hospital from giving out her details.

“Even though THR’s own records indicate Nina’s condition left her unable to make important decisions on her own, THR had no problem asking for and relying on her consent to release information about her to the public for its own corporate benefit,” the lawsuit states.

The contradictions from Oct. 14 are among numerous allegations in the 36-page lawsuit. Pham also says the hospital was ill-prepared to treat Ebola cases — to the point where her managers had to rely on Internet searches for information on how to care for someone with a highly infectious disease.

“She had to wear the scrubs she wore that first day home, taking out of the hospital clothing that was potentially carrying the virus,” the lawsuit alleges.

Pham, a nurse at the hospital since July 2010, and her colleague Amber Vinson contracted Ebola while treating Thomas Eric Duncan. Duncan, a Liberian resident who was visiting Dallas, unknowingly brought the disease with him from West Africa and went to Texas Health Presbyterian in North Dallas when he fell ill. Duncan, who died Oct. 8, became the first person ever to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. By late October, Pham and Vinson were both declared Ebola free. Neither has returned to work.

Pham’s lawyers contend that the hospital never provided any training, despite having ample time to prepare for a possible Ebola case.

“All Nina knew about Ebola is what she had heard on the television about the deadly outbreak in West Africa,” the lawsuit states. “The nurses were just using their best guesses and their instincts to protect themselves.”

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages but “an amount sufficient to punish and deter THR, and other corporate owners of hospitals like them, from such conduct in the future.”

Word of Pham’s pending lawsuit against her employer was first reported by the Dallas Morning News this past weekend. In that story, the 2010 college graduate said she worried about her long-term health and whether or not anxiety and fear would allow her ever to return to critical care nursing.

Public sentiment about the suit has not been entirely favorable. But on Monday, Pham reiterated her reasons for moving forward.

“The fact is, I’m facing a number of issues with regard to my health and my career and the lawsuit provides a way to address them,” Pham said in an email. “But more importantly, it will help uncover the truth of what happened, and educate all health care providers and administrators about ways to be better prepared for the next public health emergency.”

Jason Sickles is a reporter for Yahoo News. Follow him on Twitter (@jasonsickles).