Deputy's Wife Learned Of Ebola Test Results From CBS 11
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - Sergeant Michael Monnig's wife, Lisa, is obviously relieved by the news that he tested negative for Ebola. But she's not happy about the way she found out.
She didn't receive the news from doctors or state health authorities. Instead, she found out from CBS 11's JD Miles during an interview Thursday afternoon.
It was upsetting for Lisa Monnig, who said her husband hadn't been told anything either while he remained in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Monnig was released from the hospital a short time time later.
The wife of the Dallas County Sheriff's Department sergeant said the couple did not think he had Ebola when he walked into a Frisco clinic Thursday complaining of stomach pains. She said he drove to the clinic, under instruction from the CDC, because he was in Thomas Duncan's Dallas apartment last week serving a containment order.
Lisa said her husband's trip to the hospital and Ebola test were something he was forced to do because of the extreme precautions to prevent Ebola from spreading.
Although Michael had a high fever, she never worried he was infected.
After receiving news that the Ebola test came back negative, Lisa Monnig had harsh words for the State Department of Health which released that information before telling the patient.
"This, to me, would violate a HIPAA law, and I'm sorry, but I firmly believe that is something that should be shared with the patient and his family before it's shared with the public."
Monnig also talked about her husband's visit inside the apartment Ebola victim Thomas Duncan last week.
Lisa said her husband was worried about the conditions inside that apartment and the fact that he went inside unprotected.
"The patient had been sick throughout the apartment and it wasn't necessarily cleaned up very well," said Monning. "He had been vomiting quite violently. He (Michael) was touching surfaces that had possibly been contaminated."
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Latest News:
Top Trending: