UNMC’s second Ebola patient, Ashoka Mukpo, was released from the Biocontainment Unit Wednesday after multiple tests confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that he was free of Ebola.
Although Mukpo did not attend Wednesday’s new conference, UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., read a prepared statement in which Mukpo called it a “joyful day.”
“After enduring weeks where it was unclear whether I would survive, I’m walking out of the hospital on my own power, free from Ebola,” the statement said. “This blessing is in no small measure a result of the world-class care I received at the Nebraska Medical Center.
See a video interview with Ashoka Mukpo here.
“When Dr. Smith and his team first received me, I was in a difficult situation and was quite sick. The professionalism and confidence of the team instantly reassured me that I was in good hands. The nursing staff was incredibly calm and handled my symptoms in a manner that clearly reflected strong training and preparedness.”
Mukpo also said the nursing staff had introduced him to “something called a ‘Runza.'”
For the complete text of Mukpo’s statement, click here.
Phil Smith, M.D., medical director of the Biocontainment Unit at Nebraska Medicine-Nebraska Medical Center and professor of internal medicine/infectious diseases at UNMC, praised the health care team, noting that Nebraska Medicine and UNMC staff continue to volunteer to work at the unit.
He praised the efforts of Shelly Schwedhelm, director of Emergency Department, Trauma and Emergency Preparedness at Nebraska Medicine, in assembling a group that has now helped two patients overcome the Ebola virus.
“Shelly has done a tremendous job of selecting and recruiting the best we have, and we have more people volunteering than we can use,” Dr. Smith said.
Schwedhelm and Angela Hewlett, M.D., associate medical director of the Biocontainment Unit and assistant professor of internal medicine/infectious diseases at UNMC, joined Dr. Smith at the press conference.
Dr. Gold said that U.S. government agencies had reached out to UNMC and Nebraska Medicine for assistance and input into ways to stop the spread of the virus both in the U.S. and Africa, and ways to educate both health care facilities and the general public in the United States.
Dr. Smith said that, until the Biocontainment Unit was asked to care for another Ebola patient, “we will use this time to try to share our knowledge as best we can with the rest of the world.”
Awesome news!!