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Video: Presbyterian Nurses Talk To ’60 Minutes’ About Thomas Eric Duncan’s Last Days

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Thomas Eric Duncan was the first Ebola patient to be diagnosed in the U.S. He died Oct. 8.

It has been almost a month since a Liberian man was taken to a Dallas hospital and put in isolation after he began exhibiting symptoms of the Ebola virus. Healthcare workers from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital spoke to CBS' Scott Pelley about what happened in those 10 days and Thomas Eric Duncan’s last moments.

Watch:

Sidia Rose was one of the first nurses who cared for Duncan. She said she and her colleagues followed CDC guidelines from the start, but they were insufficient to protect those like Nina Pham and Amber Vinson from being infected with the virus.

Another nurse, Richard Townsend, said those who cared for Duncan worked 16 to 18 hours a day, working two hours at a time in the isolation room with him. Healthcare workers comforted him because his family couldn’t be there.

The hospital has been under scrutiny after not diagnosing the virus the first time Duncan entered the hospital on Sept. 25. 

Watch more of the interview here.

Former KERA staffer Krystina Martinez was an assistant producer. She produced local content for Morning Edition and KERANews.org. She also produced The Friday Conversation, a weekly series of conversations with North Texas newsmakers. Krystina was also the backup newscaster for the Texas Standard.