Anthrax in America: Hospital President Delivers Statement About Employee Death
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A 61-year-old woman has died, earlier this morning, from an infection of inhalation anthrax. Jason Carroll is at the hospital in Manhattan. That hospital has released a statement, of sorts. Jason, hello to you.</s>JASON CARROLL, CNN ANCHOR: That happened just within the past hour. Gladys George, the president and CEO of Lenox Hill Hospital, came out. She provided a few more details about the death of Kathy Nguyen, the 61-year-old woman who died from complications from inhalation anthrax. I want you to listen in, Bill, to what she told us a few moments ago.</s>GLADYS GEORGE, PRESIDENT, LENOX HILL HOSPITAL: We are very sad to confirm that Kathy Nguyen, a 61-year-old employee of Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital died early this morning of inhalation anthrax disease. We are committed to assuring the safety of our staff members, our patients, and visitors at Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital and are working very closely with the public health authorities and will continue to do so, to ensure the safety of all of these individuals. At this point, the New York City Department of Health is recommending that only employees, patients, and visitors of the hospital since October 11 who spent more than an hour at the institution start a course of antibiotic prophylactic therapy as a precautionary measure. The city Health Department has set up a site at Lenox Hill Hospital, in our Einhorn Auditorium, on 76th street. We were there starting late yesterday, through the evening. We are there all day today. People are being interviewed and they are being provided with antibiotics if it is deemed necessary. We will continue these hours as long as it may be needed. At this point, 1,116 individuals have been seen at our site and have been placed on the prophylactic antibiotics. These include 256 employees of Manhattan Eye and Ear and 95 Lenox Hill employees, who also spend time at Manhattan Eye and Ear. And as I said, this activity is continuing, on 76th Street, in the Einhorn Auditorium. We are also encouraging people who may fall into the category here to contact their primary care physician or come to Lenox Hill to receive the antibiotic therapy. With regard to the environmental samples taken Monday evening by the city at Manhattan Eye and Ear, we have been advised that the preliminary results of these samples are negative, and we have been advised that we can expect confirmatory results sometime on Thursday. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health took samples yesterday afternoon and this morning. The preliminary results are expected on Thursday, and final results are expected on Friday.</s>CARROLL: An update there from Lenox Hill. Nguyen worked in the stockroom of Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital, in the basement area, near a mail room. This is a troubling case for investigators because at this point, Bill, they have no idea how she was exposed to anthrax.</s>HEMMER: Jason, thanks -- Jason Carroll, in Manhattan. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com