September is National Preparedness Month, which encourages Americans to focus on preparing for emergencies and making plans to protect their health. It's not too late to start planning for emergencies like hurricanes, lengthy power outages and more. A few simple preparations like stocking up on nonperishable foods, water and medical supplies could make a big(...)
BCU Update
August Drills with MedStar
Posted by | Patient CareOur BCU team has been strengthening partnerships within our state assessment hospitals and frontline facilities this past month. Several members of our team observed and evaluated a full functional drill at MedStar Southern Maryland in Clinton, demonstrating their activation operations in the early hours of the morning. Our team collaborated with Southern Maryland’s emergency management(...)
NETEC Summit
Posted by | Patient CareThis month, the BCU team traveled to Denver for the annual National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC) Summit. The summit brought together groups from each of the 10 Regional Ebola and Special Pathogen Treatment Centers (RESPTCs) to discuss progress, strategies and challenges related to special pathogen preparedness as well as research activities, public health(...)
High Consequence Pathogen Preparedness Workshop
Posted by | Patient CareOn May 15-16, 2019, the Johns Hopkins Biocontainment Unit–in collaboration with the National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC)–hosted a comprehensive workshop on high consequence pathogen preparedness. Approximately 150 individuals from around the country attended, bringing together expertise in critical care, nursing, public health, administration, medical transport and laboratory operations. The two-day workshop featured several(...)
Help Minimize the Measles Outbreak
Posted by | Patient CareOver the past few years, the BCU team has learned the importance of taking a good travel and social history. The current measles outbreak is a great reminder of the importance of asking about our patients’ lives, activities and the places they travel. As of April 19, 2019 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(...)
March Updates
Posted by | Patient CareMarch continues to be busy for the BCU team. The recent Hopkins On Alert quarterly newsletter, through the Johns Hopkins Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR), highlighted some of BCU’s endeavors from congressional visits to the most recent exercise. The newsletter features a myriad of topics related to institutional and personal preparedness activities. Two of(...)
The BCU on Capitol Hill
Posted by | Patient CareThe month of February saw many exciting accomplishments and opportunities for the BCU team. On February 4, The Hill published an op’ed written by BCU Medical Director, Dr. Brian Garibaldi, and BCU Executive Director, Dr. Lisa Maragakis, on the importance of maintaining pandemic preparedness infrastructure as well as strengthening national preparedness for emerging infectious diseases. After(...)
BCU Research Update
Posted by | Patient Care, ResearchOn January 28-31, Chris Sulmonte, project administrator the Biocontainment Unit, will be attending the American Society of Microbiology Biothreats Conference in Arlington, VA. His abstract “Developing a Statewide Education Program to Support a High Consequence Pathogen Preparedness Network” was accepted as both a poster and peer-to-peer presentation. Additionally, an abstract by Mark Romig and Lauren(...)
Celebrating the Holidays
Posted by | Patient CareTo celebrate the holidays, the BCU team threw a party at Urban Axes Baltimore on Saturday, December 15. With 33 attendees, this team building exercise was a huge success and allowed staff members in different functional areas to get to know one another better. With tournaments to test BCU members' axe throwing skills, this was(...)
Tabletop Exercises
Posted by | Patient CareOn October 23, the BCU team hosted a tabletop exercise to discuss the logistics behind transporting and caring for pediatric patients with suspected Lassa fever. In a real-life scenario, a patient transport would require coordination and communication with many of our local and state representatives. We partnered with Frederick Memorial Hospital, a Maryland Special Pathogen(...)