CONGRESSIONAL HEARING: Medical organizations report difficulties in recruiting workers; Republicans continue criticize Administration's opposition to quarantines.

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THE HILL                                                      Nov. 18, 2014

By Sarah Ferris - 11/18/14 12:53 PM EST

WASHINGTON --The pipeline of Ebola doctors and nurses in West Africa is still running dry even as money increasingly flows into the region, leaders of the nongovernmental effort warned Tuesday.

“We face a severe shortage of adequately trained health professionals, both national and international,” Rabih Torbay, a vice president of the nonprofit International Medical Corps, told a congressional panel.

International Medical Corps has about 900 workers in Liberia and Sierra Leone, about 90 percent of whom are African nationals. But Torbay said it has been extremely difficult to recruit volunteers to help stem the outbreak.

U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah last week  said staffing was so low that the agency had to cancel plans for treatment units after some dropped out because of harsh state quarantines.
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GOP renews attack on Obama's Ebola response

THE HILL                                                   Nov. 18, 2014

WASHINGTON --House Republicans are again aiming criticism at President Obama’s response to Ebola, renewing calls for travel bans and quarantines, even as public attention on the disease continues to wane.  

Rep. Tim Murphy, who leads the House Oversight Committee’s health subpanel, on Tuesday slammed the administration for repeatedly opposing policies that have been adopted by “respected institutions,” such as the U.S. military.

“It’s impossible for the American people to understand why the government would have one standard for the military and yet another standard for people who may have been in the same, or possibly more perilous, circumstances,” Murphy said.

CDC Director Tom Frieden defended the administration’s policies to keep Ebola out of the United States, including exit screenings and active monitoring.

"We are working intensively with hospitals across the U.S. to prepare for the possibility that they might have Ebola," he said.

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 http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/224559-house-gop-renews-attack-against-obamas-ebola-response