In its weekly update for New York State physicians, the Medical Society of the State of New York wanted to ensure that the doctors within their network were well informed on the threat of Ebola. So, MSSNY President Andrew Kleinman, M.D., told them to make sure they were following the society on Twitter.
MSSNY is here to help you. As we communicate regularly with key New York State officials, and closely monitor the worldwide and U.S. efforts regarding efforts to contain the outbreak, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest scientific and other important information. Continuous updates are being posted to our Twitter and Facebook feeds when important new information arises, which is many times per day.
If you are not on Twitter or Facebook already, you need to follow us! (If you need help setting up an account, please contact ssachs@mssny.org). And please “re-tweet” and “re-post” these important updates to those physicians and other care providers who follow you.
How reassuring to know that the MSSNY is taking necessary precautions to keep their patients safe by telling our respected doctors they must rely on social media. Are you telling me this is the best way the organization is keeping in contact with our physicians -- by assuming they're following their Twitter and Facebook accounts? Scary.
MSSNY isn't the only entity to be less-than-accessible on the threat of Ebola. The Centers for Disease Control has contradicted itself several times when responding to the health crisis. First, the CDC definitively declared the virus cannot spread in the air, yet a few days later in a House subcommittee, CDC director Thomas Frieden seemed much less sure of himself, stating, "Evidence does not suggest it spreads through the air." They also backtracked on comments that Ebola could not be spread through sneezing.
In addition to its inconsistent and misleading messages, the CDC managed to put people in danger when it allowed a nurse who had treated Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person infected with Ebola to die in America, to fly on a plane. They told her it would be okay to travel even after she had complained of a fever. It was another example of their incredibly botched oversight.
The question is, are New York's hospitals prepared for Ebola? While Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared New York is ready for the threat, local radio hosts have insisted doctors and nurses don't know the protocol. WBEN's Tom Bauerle said he's been speaking with hospitals who say they are not at all prepared.
But, as long as they keep refreshing their Twitter page, all is well.