Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University Hospital take part in nationwide exercise

Grady EMS arrives at Children s Healthcare of Atlanta Photo credit Jack Kearse Emory Soundness Sciences Children s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University Hospital participated in a nationwide test of the ability to safely move patients with highly infectious diseases to regional therapy centers The four-day large-scale exercise was called Tranquil Passport and it involved more than international federal state and local collaborators Led by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response ASPR a part of U S Department of Human and Strength Services the exercise took place between June and June at airfields hospitals and crisis operations centers in Atlanta Washington D C New York NY Raleigh NC and Toronto Children s Arthur M Blank Hospital and Emory University Hospital are a combined Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Therapy Center one of in the U S with specialized training and capabilities to care for patients with highly contagious infectious diseases The exercise was an opportunity to test the new HHS Portable Biocontainment Unit PBCU the first domestic stock for isolating and transporting multiple patients with contagious infectious diseases via ground and air During the exercise two person actors were brought by plane to Raleigh and then to Atlanta by ground shipping using the new PBCU which can carriage up to patients with highly infectious diseases at once In Atlanta one child actor with a simulated highly infectious illness was transported by Grady EMS to Arthur M Blank Hospital and one adult actor with the same simulated ailment was transported by ambulance to Emory University Hospital both of which hospitals have specially designed units to care for patients with serious communicable diseases The Special Care Unit SCU at Children s Arthur M Blank Hospital is unique in the Southeast region and among sparse in the United States designated exclusively for children with highly contagious infectious diseases The SCU ensures that children receive comprehensive care that is safely delivered by expertly trained staff in a high-level isolation facility The SCU has six airborne infection isolation rooms with special features like uni-directional air flow to minimize cross-contamination designated rooms to put on and remove personal protective equipment PPE and a state-of-the-art audio and visual monitoring system to facilitate communication among staff providing person care Our Special Care Unit within Arthur M Blank Hospital was specifically designed to ensure the safety of ill children and the dedicated physical condition care gang providing around-the-clock care declared Dr Andi Shane division chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Children s We are excited to participate in this international exercise and ensure our specially trained staff members are prepared to care for patients with highly contagious infectious diseases should an event arise In Emory University Hospital opened the Serious Communicable Diseases Unit in collaboration with the Centers for Ailment Control and Prevention CDC to care for scientists and other CDC employees at menace for exposure to infectious diseases Sharon Vanairsdale Carrasco director of the Regional Emerging Special Pathogens Healing Center at Emory University mentioned the Serious Communicable Diseases Unit organization trains regularly to care for patients with high-consequence infectious diseases The opportunity to participate in this full-scale exercise through ASPR provided our organization with valuable experience and knowledge as we tested the new portable bio-containment unit for transporting patients stated Carrasco The PBCU will add an additional layer of protection and safety for patients and care teams when transporting patients with suspected or proven highly infectious diseases to regional medicine centers like ours Emory Healthcare with employees and hospitals is the preponderance comprehensive academic wellness system in Georgia The post Children s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University Hospital take part in nationwide exercise appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta