Dallas

Nina Pham Resting Comfortably, in “Good Spirits” Friday

NIH doctors say they intend to have Pham walk out of their hospital

Ebola patient and nurse Nina Pham is in fair but stable condition and is resting comfortably in “good spirits” after being transferred from Dallas to a National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Maryland Thursday, medical officials with the NIH said Friday.

“We fully intend to have this patient walk out of this hospital and we’ll do everything we possibly can to make that happen,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Laboratory of Immunoregulation, said at a media briefing Friday.

Pham, who contracted Ebola after caring for patient Thomas Eric Duncan at a Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, is now in the "care of physicians nurses and technicians with extensive training, experience and knowledge of infectious disease and infectious disease control,” Fauci said.

Fauci said Pham was listed in fair condition after being assessed by NIH staff following her transfer to the Maryland facility Thursday night. She had been listed in good condition in Dallas before her transfer, but Fauci said the change in status shouldn't be understood as Pham's condition worsening.

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas released video of Ebola patient Nina Pham, which the hospital said was recorded just before she was transported to Maryland for further treatment. In the video, Pham, who is a nurse at the hospital, speaks with Dr. Gary Weinstein, the hospital said.

"She's not deteriorating. I cannot tell you at this particular time why we have said fair, because of patient confidentiality, but she is quite stable now and resting comfortably," said Fauci.

Fauci added that the fair designation implies that she still has symptoms of Ebola, but that she is in good spirits, sitting up, eating and engaging with nurses and doctors yet quite fatigued from battling the virus.

He added that there is no specific treatment for the Ebola virus, but that Pham will be given the best possible care and will remain at the hospital until she recovers.

"There are a variety of symptoms that have to do with Ebola. Whatever those, we deal with, we take care of it, but there is no specific therapy that has been proven to be effective against Ebola. That's why excellent medical care is critical," Fauci said. "We will [keep] her here until she is well and clear of virus."

Dallas Nurse Nina Pham arrived late Thursday in Maryland, where she will receive treatment for Ebola at the National Institutes of Health.

Fauci said Pham is being treated in the NIH's Special Studies Unit, which was started in 2011 for the explicit purpose of being able to accept patients who have anything that has to do with bioterror or emerging infectious diseases.

"There is more than one place that can well take care of people with Ebola. So, I wouldn't say this is the best possible place, I can just tell you this is a very, very good place."

Dr. Richard Davey, director of the NIH Special Studies Unit, examined Pham after her arrival and said she is doing quite well. He added that five nurses are working per 12-hour shift, two of whom are in the room with Pham at any time. On a given week, Davey estimated that up to 20 nurses may work with Pham.

John Gallin, director of the NIH Clinical Center, said "our patients call this place the House of Hope and our nurses say there is no other hospital like it." Gallin said one of the reasons for that is that the hospital, which receives $402 million annually in taxpayer funds, has never sent a bill to a patient.

"We've never billed a patient for anything. We will travel them here ... we will house them or their family, for free, and we never send a bill. So this patient will never be charged for anything," Gallin said.

Gallin, who said Pham's mother and sister are staying near the hospital while she is treated for Ebola, added the facility's commitment to “research, excellent patient care and training” makes it a strong candidate for successfully treating Pham.

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